Love is Just Plain Hell
by Cuna999
Summary: Natsume Hyuuga, leader of his gang, Hellfire. Mikan Sakura, head of her own gang, Frozen Sakura. Instant enemies from day one, and from their mutual hatred comes gang wars. But under the bloodlust comes trust, betrayal, friendship and...love?
1. Enter, Frozen Sakura

**Writer's Notes: **Yeah…I know. I'm starting another fanfic. I've actually thought about this one a lot, so this one should keep going…if not, well, I dunno. I'm having major writer's block for Frogs and Toads. Manipulated is okay, I've just got to make sure Mikan doesn't turn too defiant too quickly

Mikan and the others are going to be in high school, along with Misaki and Tsubasa. They're all 16.

**Disclaimer****: I do NOT own ****Gakuen**** Alice!  
**

* * *

_Setting:_ Alice Academy, school for special children with powers called an 'Alice'. The school campus is extremely large, with an elementary, middle, and high school branch. There's central town, a place for shopping, the Northern Woods, where an adorable (but dangerous) moving bear and a giant mutated chick lives, and many other areas for the students to essentially create a small town that is a relatively close-knit community.

**Enter, Sakura All Girls Alliance. (****Known as ****SAGA**** abbreviated)**

"Hey, hey, did you hear? Leader is transferring to the Academy!"

"She has an Alice? Really? That's great!"

Two girls chatted happily inside a classroom of Alice Academy. Their names were Anna Umenomiya and Nonoko Ogasawara.

Anna had long, wavy pink hair with teal blue eyes, possessing an usual Alice where any dish she cooked had the ability to come alive. Nonoko had straight blue hair with grey eyes, and the Alice of chemistry; people often came to her for things like stamina drinks and other unusual but useful concoctions. The two were often referred to as twins. Although they are nothing alike in physical appearance, their personalities are very similar and because they are such close friends they understand each other very well.

"So she's finally able to come, huh?"

Hotaru Imai entered the room, walking to her desk without stopping to greet her friends. She had short, black hair and emotionless violet eyes, with the Alice of invention.

"Isn't it great?" Anna said happily.

"I heard! Leader's coming to Alice Gakuen, right?"

Misaki Harada leaned against the doorway, grinning. She had medium length hair, going below her shoulders a few inches, possessing the doppelganger Alice.

"Ah, Misaki, you're skipping homeroom again, aren't you?" Nonoko said, an expression of mock anger.

"No, I just figured I'd come and join in the excitement. I don't want to be left out, you know?"

**Enter, ****Hyuuga**** All-Boys Gang. (****No Abbreviation, although referred to as Hellfire)**

"What, so a useless leader that didn't have an Alice until now is transferring here?"

Natsume Hyuuga entered the room, snorting. He was very handsome, with raven-black hair and crimson eyes. He was barely ever in class, mostly only present to threaten others with his fire Alice or to sleep to get credit for being present. He found class extremely boring, seeing as he knew everything already. A red earring dangled from his ear, an Alice control device to keep his fire abilities in check because of its considerable power.

"N-Natsume-sama…" Yuu Tobita said quietly, trying unsuccessfully to tone down his leader's attitude. He was the kindest guy in their group, and the only one that SAGA could deal with because he wasn't a bastard all the time. He had straw colored-hair and brown eyes, a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. It was his Alice of illusion that made Natsume chose him as a member.

"…"

Ruka Nogi kept quiet, eyes cold. He was Natsume's best friend, with soft blonde hair and gray eyes. He had the Alice of animal Pheromones, always carrying a little bunny named Usagi. He truly did love animals as they loved him, but he never showed his caring side although the bunny did tone down his cold looks sometimes.

"Don't insult our leader like that!"

Said their fourth member, Kokoroyomi, or Koko for short, in a falsetto. He had darker straw colored hair and almost-black eyes. He had the Alice of mind-reading, developing the inevitable hobby of intruding other people's minds and embarrassing them. He was especially interested in love lives, and his Alice especially useful for making people's lives a living hell by revealing their secrets. The words he had repeated were the words Anna was going to say.

"Oh, so what kind of ugly bitch is going to transfer here? I'd like to see how strong you guys actually are," Tsubasa Andou yawned. He had darker blue hair than Nonoko, usually partly covered with a brownish hat. He had a star under his right eye, which was an Alice control device like Natsume's only in tattoo form. His Alice was the ability to manipulate shadows, and was also especially useful in making people's lives a living hell. Once, he trapped two shadows and wrote _'Do squats for one hour_' on them, forcing the two victims to do exactly that.

"HYUUGA!" Nonoko screamed furiously. SAGA could have just gone to school peacefully, but somehow it leaked that Hotaru, Misaki, Anna, and Nonoko had been in a gang before. Hellfire heard. And it all went downhill.

Several people turned to look at the commotion. They were used to them fighting, but SAGA having their leader transferring here was big news. They had heard snippets of who she was from SAGA's conversations, but alltogether no many people even knew the gang had a leader. The number one activity of the school was to watch SAGA and Hellfire fight. But the most disappointing thing was, (especially to girls), that even though SAGA came extremely close in winning duels, they always lost.

"What?" Natsume said mockingly, smirking. "You've never beat us once out of 23 fights. You think you can beat us now?"

Anna bit her lip, narrowed her eyes, balled fists shaking from anger at their justified arrogance.

"Bastards…" Nonoko mumbled under her breath.

"She's mad," Koko said calmly.

"I can tell that much, you idiot," Natsume retorted.

Tsubasa laughed, and the chemist stepped forward and slapped him.

Narrowing his eyes, Natsume readied a punch and shot forward at incredible speed towards Nonoko. She closed her eyes. She knew she couldn't block it.

_Dammit._

"Oi,oi..."

A feminine voice said a few moments afterwards. Nonoko opened her eyes after realizing that Natsume's punch had been deflected.

A female stranger stood in front of them, dressed in a black ruffled shirt, paired with jeans and black heels. Her chocolate brown hair cascaded to her waist, partly tied back with the stray strands framing her face. Silver earrings with little stars danged from her ears, a necklace with three little roses dangling from it glinting upon her neck, a silver bracelet around her wrist. She was smiling, the expression resembling an angel's. The stranger was a beautiful girl, and while she was thin, her shape indicted that she was athletic and fit as well.

The only problem with the picture was that she was holding Natsume Hyuuga's fist in her left hand. Her right was shaking a finger as if she was scolding a child.

"Tsk, tsk," She repeated. "How dare you attack my member the first thing I walk into this room?"

"Who are you, girl?" Natsume snarled, his cold, ruby eyes burning. Not many people could deflect any of his attacks, and the face that this _girl_ could stop his so easily was...vexing.

"Are you stupid, or do you just not listen?" The girl said, a hint of exasperation in her tone. "I'll say it again. Listen, will you? 'How dare you attack my member the first thing I walk into this room?'"

"Then…"

"Oh my, you've caught on! Good for you, little boy!" she said, smiling, ruffling his hair like a five-year-old. She was still holding his fist.

Natsume glared at the girl, red eyes burning with hatred for this newcomer. She was part of SAGA.

Her smiling face turned serious and malicious.

"You bastard. Rest in pieces."

With that, she grabbed his fist tighter, threw him in the air, and kicked him in the stomach. He was sent flying into the wall as students screamed, scrambling out of the way as he few over them. A dent very much looking like the outline of Natsume was left.

She turned to the shocked SAGA group.

"What's wrong with you guys? You're getting rusty, aren't you? Just because I haven't been around you doesn't mean that you can slack off!" She said, her expression stern, a hint of anger in her tone.

"M…" Nonoko gasped, eyes growing wide.

"MIIKKAANN-CHAANNN!"

"LEADER!"

Screams of delight filled the room by just SAGA alone.

"Tch…"

Natsume stood up, staggering, and faced this girl called "Mikan".

She turned around, smirking, with the rest of SAGA leaning upon her. Anna and Nonoko were positioned on either side, a hand on her shoulder. Misaki was behind her, back slightly turned, Hotaru standing in the same fashion, as if they were shadows supporting their leader. It was a very cool pose overall, something that wasn't practiced, something that was simply natural.

"Name?" Natsume asked, wiping some blood off the corner of his mouth.

"Hmph," Mikan smirked. "You really don't listen, do you? Figure it out, dumbass."

An aura of absolute bloodlust, the great undefeated (until now) leader of Hellfire kneeling on the ground, his members glaring at the girls smirking with confident beauty.

My, my.

**Enter, Mikan Sakura, Leader of Sakura All-Girl****'****s Alliance.**

**-AKA, Frozen Sakura.  
**

* * *

**Writer's End Notes:** Yeah…

I needed an abbreviation for Sakura All-Girl's Alliance. It's annoying to have to type it…(yeah, okay, I'm lazy)

It was Originally Sakura All-Girl's Gang, but SAGG sounds uncool.

I couldn't think of an abbreviation for Hyuuga All-Boys Gang. The word "hellfire" was in the back of my mind. Maybe I've heard it somewhere. O.o

Anyways, hope you enjoyed…

I'll try to update on other fanfics ASAP, but I'm having writer's block for some of them. XP I'm sorry! I hope this kind of makes up for it….

Review?


	2. Reminiscence

**Writer's Notes: **Alright! Now that I've completed **Manipulated**, I can concentrate on this, **Stained Red, **and **The Key to my Heart.**

Well then, here's chapter 10!

* * *

"Are you ready?"

"Of course I am."

"Take as many students as you can. The Academy's protection unit is useless when in shambles."

"Ha! It's useless even when it _wasn't _in shambles."

"No…don't underestimate Mikan Sakura. She could probably take out everyone here."

"But she's recovering from some sort of incident, right?"

"Exactly. That's why this is the perfect chance. Hotaru Imai only has a single Alice, but she'll bit a bit hard to capture, too."

"This will be easy…Ready?"

"Let's go."

* * *

"DAMMIT!" Narumi cursed.

"This isn't going to work. I knew that Luna girl was trouble…" Jinno, the math teacher, with an Alice of lightning, growled.

"You thought Mikan Sakura was trouble, too." Serina, a teacher who saw images through her crystal ball told him.

"Mikan-chan and he gang always protected the school from the AAO!" Narumi said, worried now.

"Even if she had her gang perform the task unknowingly…" Serina mumbled.

"The AAO has attacked several times before, but this will most likely be their most successful. Sakura is in the hospital; her gang is with Koizumi, who I doubt will be able to protect the school. Hyuuga's gang is also with Koizumi…Imai and Tobita can only do so much by themselves…Sakura is the only one who can attack the AAO single-handedly, and come out without many injuries…she's trained with Persona, after all, and multiple Alices are very useful…" Jinno threw is hands up in the air.

"The students won't know what is going on…we need to plan an escape route for them," Serina said.

"Where will we evacuate all the students?!" Narumi yelled. The Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle, and High School division's students added up to a huge number.

"…The only thing we can do is teleport them somewhere else, but no teachers have the teleportation Alice. Noda-sensei is a time-tripper, students ending in unknown places and possibly without a chance of getting back is dangerous." Jinno murmured.

"That's not much we can do…this situation is quite bad right now…"

"SHIT!"

* * *

Mikan was awake.

She still lay on her hospital bed, looking out the window, while Hotaru peeled an apple. Well, she used her invention to peel the apple, anyway.

"…something's wrong." Mikan told her friend, as she bit into an apple slice.

"Of course. The AAO's attacking. Can't you hear Narumi, Jinno and Serina-sensei?"

The brunette sighed.

"Feeling useless like this freaking sucks."

"You're recovering, so shut up."

"…"

"Ne, Hotaru? You knew that on certain occasions, when we got a job, sometimes it was the AAO we were dealing with, didn't you?"

"I know who we're dealing with, Mikan. My information source is wider than yours."

"…"

"…"

Hotaru glanced at her leader, and her best friend. Mikan was chewing on an apple slice, thinking.

"…You're going to fight, no matter what, aren't you?"

"The Anti-Alice Organization _sells _children with Alices, Hotaru. They work as slaves; they get put in the military."

The inventor cringed at this.

Being sold. She knew the feeling.

"…You'll last about seven hours if you don't move around too much. But if you do too much movement, you'll last four. I can give you a painkiller, but your wounds will just hurt more afterwards."

Mikan smiled.

"Thank you, Hotaru."

* * *

Luna sat in the classroom like a queen, Hellfire and SAGA members surrounding her.

The door slid open, and in walked Narumi, his face serious for once.

"All right. I'm not exactly sure how to break this to you…"

"To make that blunt, we're going to be attacked by the AAO."

The door slid open again and Mikan, Hotaru and Yuu walked in.

The students gasped, and murmuring broke out.

"Mikan-chan!" Narumi gasped. "Are you sure you should be moving around?"

The brunette shrugged and smiled.

"I'll last about seven hours at the maximum. I'll use some painkiller when I need to." She told him. "After all, nobody else is going to help this place."

"Cut the corny talk. You don't need to last, Sakura," Luna snarled. "For all I care, you can just die."

Natsume winced a bit at Luna's harsh voice. She didn't know the situation.

He had dealt with the Anti-Alice Organization before, and it was not easy. If they needed to, they _killed _the student. Being killed was not a happy thought, and in a life-and death situation, he didn't need to be reminded of the feeling.

But Mikan laughed, which pissed Luna off even more.

"Oh? That's fine, if you're so confident that you can protect yourself, then I don't need to help you."

"Who said I needed help?" Luna smiled smugly, and glanced at former Hellfire and SAGA members. "I have _these."_

"Not everyone is a leader, Koizumi. They could take you and kill you; I wouldn't shed a single tear."

_Tmp tmp tmp tmp…_

Footsteps of large numbers could be heard and Mikan smirked.

"Sensei, if you please, evacuate all students outside."

"Are you CRAZY?!" Anna shouted.

"It'll be easier for them to capture us out there!!" Nonoko added.

The brunette glanced at them.

"You protect yourselves. Koizumi's gang has nothing to do with me. Plus, they're going to burn down the building. If you want to burn to death, that's fine with me."

"…"

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

"Move, go, hurry!"

All the students screamed, running out the door, a few who were capable jumping out the windows.

And as expected, soon, certain parts of the building were set ablaze.

"Narumi-sensei should get out, too. Fire spreads quickly. Tell me if any students are left in the school and I'll teleport them out."

The violet-eyed teacher nodded and started to evacuate students in other classes.

* * *

Soon, many students were near the Northern Forest.

"Is everyone out?" Mikan asked Narumi, who was panting.

"No…there's a little girl stuck inside."

Mikan said nothing more, but snapped her fingers, and instantly, a young girl, about the age of four with blue hair appeared next to them, coughing.

"Well…this is where the hard part starts…"

The brunette sighed as thousands of the AAO members poured into the campus.

"There's more than you expected…" Hotaru said, holding something round in her hand. "Put these glasses on. You too, Tobita."

Mikan and Yuu did as they were told, as Hotaru instructed those without glasses to step back, and she immediately tossed the ball near the approaching AAO members. The ball cracked open and smoke filled the area, blinding the AAO while Mikan and Yuu went into action. They had the special glasses Hotaru made them wear, so they could see everything perfectly.

"Nice, Hotaru," Mikan whistled, as she activated an Alice.

She slammed her hands onto the ground, creating a large crater, while a large amount of members fell in. Thick vines and overgrowth blocked the members who missed the hole, tangling them together.

But more were coming, and Mikan could tell that they could manage their Alices very well.

Mikan bit her thumb, blood oozing out steadily.

"Gomen ne, Hotaru. It appears that I'll need some painkiller later. If I don't overdo it."

The brunette bit her other thumb, both hands now having a thin line of blood running down her hands.

Hotaru sighed.

"If you die, I'll kill you."

Mikan laughed. "If I'm dead you can't kill me…baka Hotaru…"

The genius inventor walked away as the brunette clapped her hands together.

"You're the baka, Mikan…"

As Mikan pulled her hands apart, they could see a blood-red sword forming.

"Hotaru!"

"I'm on it…"

"Yuu?"

"Hai!"

"_Oniwa ni umeta kuchuu ROCKET choudo hiraita  
Mukashi todoita enban REPORT sore e hijiketa!"_

Hotaru sang, swinging around her own sword.

Mikan looked at and smiled. It was rare Hotaru wanted to start a song.

The former Frozen Sakura members recognized the song immediately.

It was time to play.

"_Ukabu  
gimon gimon gimon naze ni hajikeru  
gimon gimon gimon naze ni sou naru  
gimon gimon gimon ima wa dou omou  
gimon gimon gimon dare mo ittenai..."_

She and Hotaru waited for the AAO to move first, then spun around, jumping, running, flipping, doing all sorts of tricks to both doge and attack.

"_Oniwa ni umeta kuchuu ROCKET choudo hiraita  
mukashi todoita enban REPORT sore e hijiketa_

_tojimari shita kinkuu SOCKET ima wa konagona  
omoi tsutzutta kimi e no RECORD sora e tobashita"_

The numbers were decreasing by a lot, and at a steady speed. The students stared in shock and the younger children squealed in delight. Jinno smiled slightly and nodded his head in satisfaction.

"_Ukabu  
sakebu  
gimon gimon gimon naze ni hajikeru  
gimon gimon gimon naze ni sou naru  
gimon gimon gimon ima wa dou omou  
gimon gimon gimon dare mo ittenai."_

In one hour, all the present AAO members were down.

Mikan looked at Hotaru, slightly out of breath, and smiled cheerfully. The raven-haired girl smiled back, and they high-fived.

"That was fun," the brunette said, as her sword turned into a puddle of blood, slipping from her hands.

"I'm glad we amused you, Sakura-san," a male voice said.

The two girls turned to see a red-haired man and violet eyes, a lighter shade than Hotaru's and Narumi's.

Mikan narrowed her eyes, and spoke to Luna and the former SAGA and Hellfire members without turning to look at them.

"Luna Koizumi, this time, I'm putting all my trust into you that you'll protect the students on your side. You and whatever you named your gang."

Luna smirked.

"What, Sakura? Can't handle anymore?" she said snobbily.

"Koizumi."

Mikan's voice was firm.

The owner of the soul-entrapping Alice narrowed her eyes and smirked again.

"Whatever. I can take care of it."

A few men in black suits appeared behind the red-haired man.

"You're the one who planned this, Reo Mouri," Hotaru said, her voice colder than usual.

"Of course. Who else? The boss is expecting some nice Alices. And you all know Sakura isn't going to last longer than four hours."

The brunette bit her lip, as the puddle of blood reformed itself into a sword. She shot forwards, trying to hit the red-haired man.

But all Reo did was smirk, as one of the men-in-black stopped the sword with a metal hand.

"The AAO _does_ have a variety of Alices, Sakura."

"…_Fuck!"_

Mikan cursed as she realized that one of the men had the teleportation Alice. He was gone, and he was back at Reo's side with a young, green-haired girl in his arms. Another man held a knife under her chin.

The girl whimpered. She could feel the cold metal that could take away her life in mere seconds.

"O-Onee-chan…"

Mikan turned for a split second to glare at Luna.

"What the hell happened?!"

"I-It's not my f-fault!" Luna stuttered, her eyes wide with horror.

"I thought you said you could take care of it!!"

A few glared at the blue-eyed girl.

The brunette turned back to Reo, her eyes furious.

"Put her down, Mouri."

"What makes you think I will? Her Alice of explosions is very, very useful in many ways. But on second thought, she is only useful for one thing…easily disposable."

"Put. Her. Down."

The knife under the girl's chin dug into the skin slightly, blood seeping out slowly.

Damn it! Why couldn't she use her teleportation Alice?!

"I always have conditions, Sakura. How about an exchange? Her for you."

"Are you fucking crazy-" Hotaru began, but Mikan cut her off.

"Then let go of the girl."

"…"

Suddenly, one of men shot forward and pushed something into her mouth. She swallowed in surprise.

"P-Paralyzation?!"

"True. But it also weakens you greatly, Miss Sakura…"

The man with the teleportation Alice dropped the little girl, who ran to Narumi.

Another man picked Mikan up, throwing her over his shoulders. She couldn't even struggle.

"Mikan—" Hotaru yelled, but she was hit in the stomach by the man with the metal hand. She dropped to her knees, coughing.

Everyone stared in shock as Alice Academy continued to burn; several with the water Alice desperately try to distinguish it, and Mikan Sakura being carried away.

"Stop!!" Yuu yelled, as she ran, his hand outstretched.

But just as his hand was about to grab the man's shirt, they disappeared from sight.

Teleportation.

"DAMN IT!!" Hotaru screamed, her hands in fists, bringing them down onto the hard floor with all her might. "Mikan!!"

Her hands bled slightly from bits and pieces of sharp rubble.

Mikan Sakura in the Anti-Alice Organization's hands…

Why did everything go so incredibly wrong?

* * *

**Writer's End Notes: **Alright! That concludes chapter 10. Mikan is taken away by the AAO because of Luna's mistake in protecting the students!

Mikan' was slightly harsh to her gang members when they were in the classroom...

The song that Mikan and Hotaru sang was 'Rocket' by Polysics. It's also known as the ending of 'Moyashimon', and incredible cute anime about microbes. (Oryzae!) Well, the beginning episodes were cute anyway. I was listening to it and I was feeling kind of hyper…ahaha. :sweatdrop:

So yeah…

(As some already know I'm going to stop putting the 'please review!' here because I'm sure you guys already get the idea and are probably getting annoyed by that. XD)


	3. Curiosity & Battles

**Un, ****Duex****, Trois!**

**Sorry, had to say that for no reason.**

**Anyways, onwards with chapter ****trios!**

* * *

"You BASTARD!" 

What a lovely thing to hear first thing in the morning!

Anna stared at Koko furiously, fists clenched, red-faced.

"Awww, Anna-chan, I love you too, sweetie!" Koko said mockingly.

Just a few minutes before, he had caught her staring at him. He read her mind, in which she was thinking that he was kind of cute.

"Shut up, you ass!" Anna screamed again, trying to damage him in any way.

"Anna-chan, don't be angwy!"

He continued teasing her for about five minutes, until Mikan stood up (She was chatting with SAGA members before) and walked over to them.

"SOD OFF, WILL YOU?!" Mikan yelled, practically destroying his eardrums. She kicked him in the stomach, which sent him flying, to top it all off.

She sighed.

"I can't even have a peaceful chat with those idiots around…"

"Uwaaahhh, Mikan-chan! He read my mind!"

Anna hugged her leader.

"Aww, come on Anna…don't cry."

She patted Anna's head.

The members of Hellfire watched, shocked. Behind all her pride and toughn-ness was an innocent girl?!

"S-She has a really strong kick," Koko commented, appearing in the window. He looked like all his bodily fluids had been drained out of him.

"W-water…I think her k-kick made me s-spit all the liquid out of my b-body…."

"Is that possible?" Tsubasa said, raising an eyebrow, tossing him a water bottle.

"I d-dunno…it f-felt like it…"

Koko drained the water and climbed into the room.

They all watched as SAGA laughed.

Natsume was not in a good mood. He had been defeated in battle yesterday, and so had one of his members today.

"Mikan Sakura."

He walked over to her.

"I challenge you to a duel!"

She blinked at him.

"You could have chosen a better line. Where are you from, Yu-Gi-Oh or something? But I accept."

She smirked.

"Then after school today, Northern Forest."

Mikan shrugged.

"Fine by me."

* * *

**After School, Northern Forest.**

Practically the whole school gathered around the Northern Forest to watch the fight. Lucky people got to stand in the front, to see at the action. Unlucky people got the way back, where they could see the little specks on their heads, or nothing at all.

Mikan stood near a large tree, while Natsume stood near a pond.

Mikan looked bored, and Natsume looked confident.

Hotaru sat on a laid-out towel, eating crab brains. The rest of the gang was also sitting on the towel, chatting like usual.

"I see you didn't run away, Sakura."

"Hm? Whatever. Stalling for time? How cowardly. Going to start or what?"

She held up her middle finger, and grinned. Yup, she was definitely mocking him and trying to make him pissed.

And it worked.

Natsume ran forwards with the same speed of when he attacked Nonoko, and formed a fireball in his hands.

Mikan smirked, used her Nullification Alice, and put out his fire. She jumped, and Natsume looked up. She had jumped into the sun, and the light blinded him as he held up his hand to block it out. Mikan used an Alice of Ice, and shot several icicles at the ruby-eyed boy.

_Using her surroundings__…_Natsume thought. She was definitely better than the rest of her team. _She__'__s not bad._

He moved out of the way just in time, as the icicles stuck to the ground.

"Not bad, Hyuuga," Mikan called, landing. He smirked.

"Not bad, yourself, Sakura."

They both ran forwards, Natsume holding a fireball, and Mikan holding icicles.

"You're too naïve, Hyuuga!" Mikan yelled, jumping up again, throwing icicles.

Natsume dodged. _I__'__m not falling for the __same__ trick again! _

Mikan landed once again. She sighed. This was going to be long.

* * *

**About an hour and a half later****…**

Natsume was leaning against a tree, tired, sweating, and angry.

Mikan on the other hand, was standing by the tree, looking perfectly fine.

"I said this already, Hyuuga…you rely too much on your own power. Naive."

Natsume glared at her.

"Shut up!"

Mikan sighed.

"You've been running around so much. Haven't you noticed? I haven't moved away from the tree since the beginning of the match."

That was true, he concluded in his mind, but he wouldn't admit it.

He ran forwards again, his speed decreased by a lot, though still quite fast.

Mikan held out her hand, and his forehead smacked against her palm. He looked weak, tired…and…almost unhealthy…

She gasped.

"Wait…Hyuuga…you…your Alice isn't…?!"

He collapsed. "You…don't…you dare…tell the rest of them…"

He eyes softened.

"This concludes with me winning the match." She announced.

She bent down and tried to carry Natsume, but she didn't exactly succeed. In the end, she decided to use her teleportation Alice. Natsume lay on Mikan's lap, her hand supporting his head.

She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she had successfully teleported into Natsume's room.

She sighed.

"Whew…I made it here alright…"

Angry ruby eyes met innocent chocolate ones.

"You can't even control some of your Alices?"

Mikan shrugged.

"It'll take a while for me to master about two thousand Alices, you know."

As she dragged Natsume onto his bed, she took a bucket full of water and a clean towel.

"Rest, okay? I can't have to die on me."

She dipped the towel into the water.

"Why not?"

The words just tumbled out of his mouth. He was saying things before he could stop himself.

"If I die, what does it matter? You'll be the strongest, won't you?!"

The brunette blinked, and calmly wrung out the towel, slapping it onto his forehead.

"My dream isn't to become the strongest, Hyuuga. It's yours."

She walked over to the door, and on her way out, she turned back to Natsume.

"I've lost too much already. I can't bear to watch any more die in front of my eyes."

She walked out, closing the door.

Natsume sighed.

What did he just say?

"I'm an idiot," He mumbled to himself.

But he was curious.

She looked so helpless and so happy when she helped the boy. She was too afraid to lose anymore…what went on in he past?

She sighed and closed his eyes.

He would have to do some research tomorrow.

* * *

**So...how ****did you like it? ****Crappy?**** Good? ****Meh**

**Anyway, I always write something with ****Mikan****'****s**** past****…****-.-**

**All my stories have that in common****…****or at least a lot of them.**

**I****'****ve been writing a lot of stories where Mikan is all dark and cold****…****or to me it seems like a lot. When I first started writing ****fanfics****, I always made Mikan ****happy**** and cheerful, like in the ****manga**** or anime. XD ****Haha**

**Anyways, hoped you liked it, and please review! **


	4. The Beginning of Ballistic

**…**

**X.X**

* * *

His face glowed blue, from the light of his computer. His fingers moved over the lettered keys with amazing speed, clicking every now and then. His room was dark—he didn't bother to turn the lights on. All he did in the morning was to turn on his computer. 

"Mikan…Sakura…" He said, almost like he was hypnotized, or possibly more like one of those online stalker people.

But, this guy was Natsume Hyuuga. He had said to himself that he'd find out Mikan's past. And so here he was. He had woken up a couple hours early to search.

After about an hour, he finally came across on one particular article. He had hacked into Alice Academy's student files, where they kept record and information on every student in the Academy. They usually kept the information 'locked', so no one could leak information, but apparently, since Mikan Sakura was still a new student, her file had not been locked yet, or the Headmaster was just careless.

No matter how much her search on regular search sites like Google, not a single article on the brunette came up.

He clicked on Mikan Sakura's file and started to read.

**Name: **Mikan Sakura

**Age: **16 Years Old

**Description**: Chocolate brown hair, hazel eyes

None of these surprised him. I mean, this was all the basic, obvious information. She was the same age as everyone else, including him. He continued to read.

**Private Information: **Mikan Sakura, currently (Before she was taken to Alice Academy) lives with her mother, Azumi Yuka Sakura. Her father, Yamada Sakura, was murdered by his wife. Azumi Yuka is currently in the AAO. Mikan Sakura, when she was found to be taken to Alice Academy, was found locked up in a small room, dehydrated and extremely malnourished. Her life beforehand still remains unknown, even with the research abilities of the Academy. At the young age, she seems to have lived a happy life, although what led her mother to the AAO among other things remains unknown. Also, with many missing gaps of information, she seems to have witnessed several killings before her eyes, including her father, (by Azumi Yuka), her pets (by unknown), and several of her friends (also unknown, but it was concluded most likely after being sexually harassed). The only remaining friend from her childhood is Hotaru Imai, who was born and with Mikan Sakura ever since birth.

**Frozen Sakura/SAGA: **Frozen Sakura, more commonly referred to as SAGA, was established by Matsuri Cho Taniyama at the age of 13. The name was previously referred to as 'Frozen Butterfly', but changed to 'Frozen Sakura' as a request from Matsuri, before she was killed. Her last, words were exactly as follows:

"Mikan…I'm sorry to push this responsibility onto you…but you and the members are the only ones that are aware of everyone's past…I'm the same age as everyone…but can I ask…you to take care of these children? I'm no longer the leader of 'Frozen Butterfly' anymore…change the name…to 'Frozen Sakura'…or something…it's not…really formal…but from now on…you'll be taking over in my place…It's my last wish…be strong, don't give up…"

Frozen Butterfly was neither a popular nor a well-known gang. They did nothing outrageous or any crimes, unlike most others. It was mainly just a group of friends with similar family or life situations.

The killer of Matsuri Cho Taniyama was caught a few hours after she was killed by the newly-named 'Frozen Sakura'. He was severely injured and tied up by the gang.

Afterwards, Frozen Sakura became known very well, especially to the police. They did not do crimes, but the opposite. They helped catch criminals, and were especially onto murder cases, because of the death of their leader. Mikan Sakura soon became "The Princess of Death", because she would torture then with words until the police finally arrived. Criminals stated that her words 'bore through them and felt like she was ripping out their ribs", and many stated that "If possible, her torture was even worse than Hell".

There was only one time that several people were injured or dead. Mikan Sakura was to be transferred to Alice Academy, but at that time, someone who knew abut the death of Matsuri Taniyama provoked her, and he Alice, which was always dormant until now, killed several people. More were found just injured.

Despite that incident, "Frozen Sakura' still remains a good friend to the Police.

…

This was what surprised Natsume the most. He had established and gathered members for Hellfire himself. The fact she was friends with the Police was also what surprised him. It wasn't like he went down burning building or stabbing people, but people had always considered them the 'bad boys', and he was fine with that. His thought was probably very childish, but he considered Hellfire pretty strong.

He was also surprised on how many bits of information were missing. Alice Academy's research units' skill was pretty darn good—they even found millions of celebrities' deepest darkest secrets, and yet, for a mere 16-year-old, they had missing gaps? Her past was either top-secret or something (The Academy is not allowed to force someone's past out of their mouths, if students refuse to tell them themselves, they were use the researching unit) because celebrity secrets among other things only took about ten minutes. They had about one day, and if it was normal information they were looking for, they would have found so much information that it would make your brain explode. Several people would think this would be an "Invasion of Privacy", and it was, but they didn't research every single thing. Every student has their own personal, restricted information.

He searched around some more, but he really couldn't get anything else interesting. He shut down his computer, and dressed in the school uniform. It was pretty warm outside, so he dicided to wear his summer uniform. A white , short-sleeve button-up shirt that he never even bothered to button, and a ribbon at the top, which he also never tied and allowed to hang loose, red shorts and black boots was what the uniform consisted of. The girls' summer uniform was a blouse that was a bit frilly, with a ribbon that was to be tied like the boys' on the blouse, and a red skirt and black boots.

He locked the door to his room and walked down the hall, to meet the members of Hellfire.

He had considered telling his members about Masturi Taniyama and the past of Frozen Sakura, but he decided not to. He himself had his own personal information, (aside from the Academy knowing) and painful pasts would hurt like a chainsaw cutting you in half and being made into some kind of human juice in a blender.

Actually, that's just plain disturbing among other words that are similar to 'disturbing' or 'disgusting', but we won't go into that.

"Yo, Natsume." Tsubasa greeted coolly, putting up a hand. The other members nodded and gave grunts or some kind of sign of a greeting.

Natsume nodded.

Nearly every morning, the gang would have a meeting on the top of Alice Academy's roof. Even if there was nothing to talk about, they would stand there till class started. But today, there were lots to talk about.

"SAGA's becoming more popular," Koko stated coolly, as the rest of the gang agreed.

"I don't like it. Who does Sakura think she is, showing up randomly and taking over?" Tsubasa said.

"Shut up," Natsume snapped, looking at the scenery from the top of the roof.

"You guys sound like girls fighting for popularity. And Sakura has been in her gang since she was 13. She would be considered older than us."

The rest of his gang snorted, or shifted uncomfortably.

And it was then a loud argument from below broke out from below.

"Damn it Nonoko, can't you shut up about Matsuri for one second?!"

Anna's voice was heard clearly by Hellfire.

"Then don't tell me you've forgotten about Matsuri?!" Nonoko shouted back.

Both girls sounded furious.

"Guys, guys, stop…" Misaki said, trying to calm her friends down.

"MISAKI!" Anna and Nonoko both screamed.

"Can't you tell her to shut up about Matsuri?!"

"Can't you tell her that you tell HER that I'm just trying to preserve her memory?! No one even remembers our past gang name, so I'm protecting what we have left!"

"We have Mikan, guys! Matsuri is dead! I'm not trying to make you forget her, but remember what she said to us? Or did you not hear?!"

Hotaru, who had been reading a book with Mikan, spoke without looking up.

"Who could forget? 'Don't grieve over my death.'" She snorted.

The raven-haired girl shut her book closed.

Hellfire watched over the scene. Natsume was the only one who understood about Matsuri.

"How come Sakura isn't doing anything?" Tsubasa said, as he eyed the brunette, who was staring nonchalantly at a thick book.

Everyone shrugged at they continued to watch.

"See?! Even Hotaru didn't forget about Matsuri!" Nonoko continued, yelling at Anna.

"No one forgot about Matsuri!!" Anna replied, as Misaki and Hotaru agreed.

"THEN WHY DOES MIKAN NOT REACT AND PRETEND LIKE NOTHING'S HAPPENED?!?!?!"

Anna, Misaki, even Hotaru all recoiled at Nonoko's outburst.

Mikan looked up from her book, closing it quietly. He eyes were cold and icy, along with her voice as she spoke two words that shocked them all.

"Frozen Butterfly."

The rest of the brunette's gang froze at the name of their previous name.

"Dismissed."

After that one single word, the leader walked away and towards the school.

But before she walked into the building, she lifted her head towards the roof, stared straight into the eyes of Hellfire's leader, and gave him an icy stare that made him shiver.

And Natsume Hyuuga does not shiver.

Ruka was the first one to speak after the whole scene.

"Frozen Butterfly?"

"I thought their name was Frozen Sakura." Koko added in.

Yuu stayed quiet, but then decided to chip some info in.

"Back when I wasn't taken into the Academy, there used to be a gang called 'Frozen Butterfly' run by a girl name Matsuri Cho Taniyama around where I lived…it was basically a group of friends with similar family or life situations, like abused children or something."

Yuu paused, digging into his mind for more information.

"And then Matsuri was murdered…and during her final moments she said to Sakura-san that she would be the leader…and to change the name to 'Frozen Sakura' because she wasn't the leader anymore and she didn't want them to grieve over her death…"

"So it's like she wanted Sakura to change the name, like it was erasing her own existence?" Tsubasa butted in, as Yuu nodded.

Tsubasa snorted.

"What the hell? That's just stupid."

"Let him continue!" Koko snapped, hitting Tsubasa over the head.

"Ah! Several resources also stated that SAGA, after the murder of Matsuri-san became an extremely good friend of the police and the like. The killer of Matsuri-san was also caught an hour later, by Sakura-san and her gang. And despite the incident with Sakura-san's Alice being released, SAGA's still a good friend of the police…."

Everyone besides Natsume stared holes into the intelligent boy, wanting more information.

"And…er, that's all I know…" Yuu said nervously.

"…" Ruka, who rarely spoke, kept quiet like usual, but opened his mouth to add a few more words of information.

"I heard that the criminals that were caught by Sakura's gang kept blabbering nonsense when they were taken to jail," He said, as everyone stared at him.

"So?" Tsubasa said. "Don't they always blabber nonsense anyway?"

"No, it was more like hysterics. You know, when people are in hysterics, they cry or laugh like crazy."

Natsume rolled his eyes.

"It was her words. When she caught them, she would torture them with words, which a lot of the criminals said was like ripping out their ribs, or if it was possible, even worse than Hell."

His gang stared at him.

"How do you always get the best information?" Koko asked him, as Ruka nodded.

The crimson-eyed teen smirked.

"I have my ways."

The bell rang, as they all made their way to class, slowly and carefree, not giving a damn if they were late.

* * *

**Classroom B****…**

Had a really bad atmosphere.

Like, really bad.

More of like a 'KILL!" aura, all emitting from Mikan Sakura, along with a few hints from the rest of SAGA.

As Hellfire made their way into the classroom, they noticed the tension right away.

"Ah!"

Several fangirls squealed at the sight of them.

And this pissed Mikan off.

She didn't care if her own gang was popular, but just the sound of stupid fangirls or fanboys pissed her off. Big time. She hated the way the girls pretended like they knew the gang so well, and tried to butt into whatever they were doing. She hated their snobby looked, how perfect they thought they were, and everything else.

And this was a really bad time to made The Princess of Death pissed.

"NATSUME-SAMA!"

"RUKA-KUUN!"

"TSUBASAAA!

"KOKO-CHAN!"

"YUU-KUN!"

"WE LOVE-"

**"WILL YOU ALL SHUT THE HELL UP?!?!?!?!"**

…And Mount Mikan erupts. She and the rest of her gang glared at the fangirls.

"Why, are you jealous?" A random fangirl said, smirking. She was obviously full of herself.

Hotaru gave the girl one of her famous "Ice-Queen" stares, which shut her up right away.

"You're loud, idiot," Natsume said airily, rolling his eyes as he made his way towards his seat.

Mikan directed her killer glare towards him instead.

"What are you trying to say, you bastard?"

"I'm telling you to shut up," He stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

And Mount Mikan Blows up again.

"Listen, Sakura, I know you and your gang had a fight about Matsuri…" Tsubasa said, trying to help.

Misaki glared at him.

"How do you know about Matsuri?" She growled.

Tsubasa felt challenged, and shot back a comment that made the situation worse.

"Well, you don't have to get all bitchy," he retorted, "At least out leader wasn't abused, had her father killed by her own mother, and her mother in the AAO at that!"

Hotaru whipped her head around. She and Mikan were best friends ever since childhood and she was really touchy about the things people said about her friend.

"What the hell have you guys dug up?!" She said, her voice rising.

"Information is free to the public when you research hard enough!" Ruka shot back.

"How did you find out about Matsuri?!" Miskai repeated.

"You never answered her question!" Nonoko added in, as she continued to argue with Koko. Yuu just shrunk into the shadows, trying to avoid a fight.

"I don't care what you were able to dig up about SAGA's past," Mikan interrupted, directing the comment more towards Natsume. "But you, your gang, and your fangirls have made one hell of a big mistake."

"Are we united?!" Anna said angrily, as Nonoko agreed.

The whole fight about the previous leader between them all disintegrated.

The brunette jabbed her finger in the flame-caster's chest.

"You better watch your back."

…

And this is where everything goes ballistic.

* * *

**And that****'****s the end! I actually finished typing this chapter, but ****didn't**** have time to upload it. ****Tch.**

**I****'****m really proud of this chapter, I ****dunno**** why. **

**I also found out that ****typing**** two chapters at once when your in different moods are faster****…****because I started a chapter for manipulated, then I couldn****'****t get into the ****'****depressing****'**** mood to write it, so I started on this chapter****…****and about a day later I finished the chapter for Manipulated (****haha, ****yus, ****cos**** I got into the ****'****depressing mood****'****,and uploaded that. And then I started adding more to this chapter, and I actually finished yesterday****…****well, depending on when you read this chapter. XD But the date is 1/14/07 today) but I got kicked off the computer so I ****couldn't**** upload it. D:**

**Anyways.**

**The characters are turning a bit OOC. Well, ****technically****, Mikan being all dark and stuff is OOC, but****…****.uh, let****'****s not think about the details. **

**I have to stay on track!**

**-****determined****-**

**Blah.**

**My social studies homework won****'****t print.**

**Dammit.**

**Not that that matters. XD**

**Shoooo****…**

**Review, please?!**

**:D**


	5. The End of Ballistic & Life Conditions

**Okie****, Chapter 5 of Love is Just Plain Hell is here! Aren****'****t you just so proud of me? XD**

**By the way, I have a new poll on my profile (well, depending on when you read this chapter) so please check it out if you have time!**

* * *

"HYUUGA, GET THE HELL BACK HERE, DAMMIT ALL!!" 

"KOKOROYOMI, YOU!!!"

"TSUBASA ANDOU, GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!!"

"Ruka Nogi, you're going to regret this."

The brunette, the two pink-haired, and the raven haired girls chased after the members of Hellfire.

Nonoko and Yuu looked at each other and shrugged. Yuu never tried picking a fight, so he was never targeted specifically by SAGA members. They were fairly nice to him, actually.

"Ugh…" Mikan and the others stopped running. "Those bastards…"

"Dammit all…"

She smirked.

"We'll get them in class."

Mikan looked at Yuu, who gulped. They were fairly nice to him, but he was still a bit uneasy with them, their leader, especially.

"You should get back to Hellfire, Tobita. They'll kick you out if you're caught."

He nodded, and scurried away.

The gears in Mikan's brains were clicking with mad speed.

* * *

"Good morning, class!" Narumi said happily. He looked around to make sure everyone was present, and his eyes bulged and practically exploded when he saw that SAGA had arrived on time. Hellfire was still missing though. 

Mikan smirked.

_Come on, __Hyuuga__, come on Hellfire. _

She had set up a certain trick that they would levitate when they stepped into the room. But it was set in a different way than just levitating.

The door opened and in came Hellfire.

"What…?!"

Words of surprise escaped Koko's lips as he and other members floated into the air. They hung upside down. The only person standing on the solid ground was Yuu.

Mikan smirked inwardly as she snapped her fingers. She glanced at the members of SAGA as they all smiled at their leader. They drew random lines and circles in the air, and different members of Hellfire followed what they drew in the air. Mikan controlled Natsume, Hotaru controlled Ruka, Misaki with Tsubasa, and Anna with Koko.

They each had great fun making the members crash into walls or fall on top of people.

Nonoko wasn't entirely glad about not having anyone to play with, but she decided that she would be okay with it, since Yuu was a nice guy.

Narumi sighed as the Hellfire members left dents in the walls and such.

"Mikan-chan, if you would please let down Natsume-kun and the others…"

The raven-haired teenager glared at the brunette, who smirked at him.

"Awww, Narumi-sensei found out, guys. Time to end the fun."

The girls in the gang pouted, but everyone raised their arms as far as they could go.

Mikan smiled, and held up her free hand, and snapped her fingers again.

The floating gang members fell onto the ground like deadweights with a thud…a really loud thud.

"That was fun, Natsume-kun," Mikan said sweetly. " Thank you."

Natsume pulled himself off the ground and slammed his hands on the brunette's desk.

"After school. Fight. Whole gang."

He was too angry to speak in complete sentences.

Mikan smiled happily, which pissed him off even more.

"Okay, then! We'll meet you at the Northern Forest!"

This would definitely be an interesting fight.

* * *

**After School, Northern Forest**

Both Hellfire and SAGA were present. Practically the whole school came to watch this one fight, even the students who rarely cared about gang fights.

Mikan stretched out her arms and sighed.

"This should be fun," she said maliciously.

"Alright, do any of you remember our past battle plans?"

Anna and Nonoko looked at each other and nodded.

"Nonoko and I will be support. By the way, does anyone wanna try the new cookies I made? These don't have my Alice in them, so it's okay."

Mikan and Misaki nodded enthusiastically.

"Thanks, Anna! I haven't had your cookies in so long." She took one of the brown, flower-shaped cookies and pit off a petal. "Mmmmm! Delicious as usual, Anna. It's chocolate, right?"

Anna nodded. "It has a little bit of my special spice in it, though. To tell the truth, that was an experiment."

The light-pink haired girl laughed nervously.

Mikan shrugged and took another bit of the cookie. "But it's still good."

From a distance, Hellfire watched the girls closely, getting more and more agitated by the minute. How could they be laughing about cookies in a gang fight?

"Okay," SAGA"s leader finished the flower cookie. "Anna and Nonoko are support. Hotaru and I will attack, and Misaki can use her clones to attack, too."

The brunette sat down on the grass and breathed in the air.

"Well, that's done. Ahh, the weather's nice today…"

Hellfire, too was discussing their own plans.

"Alright. I'll attack from the front," Natsume said. "Shadow will use his Alice when he can to stop their members. Ruka can use his animals, and Koko can be support. Yuu can use his illusions."

The male members nodded, as they all prepared for the fight.

Mikan's relaxation apparently affected the whole gang, because now everyone was sitting on the grass with Mikan, eating Anna's cookies.

"Oi, Sakura," Tsubasa called, catching her attention. "This isn't a picnic!"

"I know that," Mikan replied. "Want one?" She offered the shadow-caster a flower cookie.

"Hm? Oh, sure…"

He took the cookie and it blew up in his face, casting crumbs everywhere.

"See? I know it's not a picnic. By the way, you shouldn't take cookies from other gang members. It could contain poison or something, y'know."

Tsubasa scowled. He actually fell for such a trick.

"Sorry for wasting one of your cookies, Anna," Mikan apologized. Anna shook her head.

"It's okay. We got to see something amusing."

They all grinned, rising from the grass and brushing off the cookie crumbs and dirt.

"Are we starting?" Someone from the crowd said.

Mikan tilted her head to one side.

"We start when we start. And I really don't know when that is. Well, we'll wait till they make the first move,"

Natsume lighted a few fireballs, while Ruka called in some animals. Tsubasa stepped forwards, as Koko stayed in the back.

Mikan, who wanted the fight to last a bit longer, didn't nullify anything.

"Actually," she said suddenly. "I'll give you guys a handicap. I won't use my nullification Alice."

"You don't really need to," Koko said, shrugging.

Mikan smiled, and jumped into the air.

Anna and Nonoko took this opportunity. Cookies in the shape of little men flew everywhere, as bottles of random stuff flew around, too.

The bottles broke as they hit the floor, and the liquid burned holes in the grown, smoking. The cookies attacked, as Natsume burned them.

"That's cheating!" Koko called.

Anna and Nonoko shook their heads.

"Making food come to life is my Alice. You should know that. I've never used it in battle, though…"

"And the Alice of Chemistry is mine. I haven't used it in battle, either…"

"But what do you want us to do, make and make concoctions and pastries while you fight? That doesn't seem like a very formal fight," The two girls said together.

They both smiled.

Misaki cloned herself, and sent them to attack.

"Dammit," Tsubasa cursed. "I can never tell which one's the real one,"

He stepped on several shadows of the clones.

Ice suddenly formed everywhere, making it hard to maneuver smoothly.

Hellfire had completely forgotten about Mikan, who had jumped into the air before.

The leader landed on a flat tip of the ice.

She smirked, as she jumped up again. Natsume rand and jumped on the ice, and jumped into the air to have an air-fight with Mikan.

Fire lit the skies as the flamecaster attacked. Water poured to the ground as the multi-Alice-user threw ice at him.

"Weak, Hyuuga!" Mikan called.

She sent shards of ice flying everywhere, and used her plant Alice to grow thick vines and trees, making it even harder to maneuver.

Natsume succeeded in burning several plants, though, but the ice still stayed. Since she had several advanced Alices, it wouldn't melt so easily.

Mikan smirked and used her ice Alice to form a long dragon of ice.

"Come on, Hyuuga!! Show me what you've got!!"

**Six Hours Later****…**

Both gangs were completely exhausted.

What looked like a million holes were burned into the ground, charred cookies and their crumbs, machine parts, and several other things filled the ground, creating a terrible-looking scene.

Several people had already left the crowd of onlookers, as they fight was very long and dragged out.

But the leaders of SAGA and Hellfire were still going strong.

But still, they were also extremely exhausted.

Natsume seemed to have the worst condition out of both of them. He lifted his hand and tried to create a fire, but all that came out was a spurt of light, which distinguished in three seconds.

"Damn it," Natsume cursed, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" Mikan screamed suddenly, looking at Natsume.

Everyone jumped at the sound.

"I forgot! Hyuuga, why the hell are you fighting?! Hell, how could I have forgotten?!?!? Your Alice shortens -"

But the raven-haired teenage smacked his hand over the brunette's mouth, preventing her from saying any more words. Lucky for him, no one was paying attention to what he was saying.

"Mmmph, mmph!"

Mikan protested, trying to free her ability to speak from Natsume.

His ruby eyes burned into her chocolate ones, his voice icy cold and only audible enough for her and her only.

"You are not to tell anyone, _not a single soul, _that my Alice shortens my life span. _Do you hear me, Sakura?!__"_He hissed, as Mikan nodded, her eyes wide and fearful.

"This fight ends in a tie," Natsume announced, his voice cold.

He uncovered Mikan's mouth, and started to walk back to the dorm rooms, his gang following.

Mikan stayed in the same spot for a few minutes, then shook her head and stood up, wobbling a bit.

"W-We should return to the dorm rooms too…."

Her voice was a bit shaky, as she and her members also walked towards the dormitory.

* * *

**Blah.**

**I don't think this chapter was that interesting...**

**The fight was probably too short and crappy. **

**Sorry...T.T **

**There wasn't much of a cliffhanger, either... **

**I also apologize for updating late...**

**School is getting to me...(a feeble excuse) and like you haven't head that a million times, ne?**

**Anyway, I have what's going to go on in the next chapter, I'll write is as soon as I can, but I can't be sure that it'll be up really soon... **

**But, please review...**

**And if you can, please make sure to vote in the poll on my profile... **


	6. A Serial Killer and to the Cafe

**Okie****! Here****'****s the sixth chapter of ****'****Love is Just Plain Hell****'**

**By the way, this chapter includes the mention of a Kamikaze Coat. That****'****s the long black coat with possibly some embroidery that the gangsters wear, right? Well, if you****'****ve ****ever**** read Kamikaze Girls (****Effin**** awesome book!) ****Or**** seen the movie, it****'****s the black coat that ****Ichigo****Ichiko**** wears, right? **

**I****'****m using all my ****manga**** references for the whole ****ganster****oufit****. XD Like in Fruits Basket, ****Uo****-chan was a ****ganster**** once, right? ****Tohru****'****s**** mom was, too****…**

**So if I get anything wrong, I****'****m sorry! T.T**

* * *

The fight between SAGA and Hellfire was popular, but it drained out lots of energy from both gangs. All the members of both gangs were still suffering a bit from side effects. Several of them were extremely tired, others suffered injuries. 

Now, they were all present in class, tired and bruised.

Class had started about ten minutes ago, but Narumi-sensei was nowhere to be seen.

"Where the hell is he?!" Someone said, clearly pissed off.

Mikan was tapping her finger on the desk, also getting a bit impatient. Narumi-sensei was never late, what could have happened? She even bothered to come on time.

But in a few seconds, Narumi's voice came over the loudspeaker.

"If SAGA and Hellfire would please come to the main office, I repeat, BOTH SAGA and Hellfire!"

Mikan sighed.

_What could he want?_

Natsume glared at the loudspeaker.

_What the hell does he want?!_

* * *

**A Few Minutes Later, Main Office, ****Narumi, SAGA, and Hellfire are present.**

"What's wrong?" Mikan asked.

"What the hell do you want? You're wasting my time," Natsume snapped.

Narumi's eyes bulged.

"You tell me you WANT to be in class?! Oh, Natsume!"

Narumi wiped away tears that weren't even there in the first place.

But Mikan softly punched him in the head and he turned serious.

"Alright, first things first. A report just came in from the police for Mikan-chan and the others," Narumi said, directing this towards SAGA. "Apparently, a mass murderer, or a serial killer is on the loose. But he's an Alice user, so the regular police can't deal with him. The Headmaster has given you special permission to leave the Academy. I believe the killer's name is Takeshii Mifuyuu. He seems to have a record of just killing females."

Mikan raised an eyebrow.

"What's his Alice?"

"From what the police saw, he could escape very quickly, so it is possible he has the Alice of teleportation."

Mikan stretched out her arms.

"And what area is this around?"

"Near the hotel that's over in the next town."

Mikan nodded, and motioned to Hotaru.

"Get dressed, guys. Hotaru, we'll need an Alice Prevention rope. Or three. Nonoko, bring any potions you think will be helpful. Anna, same for you, any food that'll be helpful. Misaki, possibly a first-aid kit if any of us get injured."

All the females nodded, and SAGA scattered and left for they own rooms.

"Alright then," Narumi said, directing his words towards Hellfire this time.

"I'd like you guys to follow them!"

Natsume raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Follow them. I'd like you boys to see how SAGA really works, their true nature."

The teacher's smile was permanent and was impossible to break through.

But Natsume considered this. He could study their moves, and see the "Princess of Hell" in action.

"Fine," Natsume answered. "We have permission from the Headmaster?"

Narumi nodded. "It's best to follow them secretly. Or follow them without being seen or sensed as best as possible, but that'll be extremely difficult, so the Headmaster has prepared Alice Stones. You should be able to follow them without being seen or sensed with these, and you should be able to teleport with this one." The violet-eyed teacher hand all the Hellfire members a white Alice stone, ad Natsume a light blue one.

"Everyone should hold on to Natsume-kun when you use the teleportation stone, because the stone only has three uses, one there and one back, and an extra one for emergency."

Natsume and the other accepted the stones, and left the office. Through the window, he could see the five Frozen Sakura members, wearing different clothes.

They all wore long, black Kamikaze Coats that said "Frozen Sakura", with a few sakura petals and butterflies, to resemble "Frozen Butterfly". It was written in blue, and the amazing embroidery made it look frozen, sakura petals, butterflies and all.

Mikan's hair was let down, long and shiny, whilst Anna and Nonoko's hair was tied into low pigtails. They all had bandages wrapped around their chests, and long, black pants with black boots. Mikan carried a metal pole along with Anna and Nonoko, while Misaki carried a rolled-up whip and Hotaru three ropes, probably the Alice Prevention ropes, and a whip like Misaki.

And to disguise their faces, they all wore a mask that looked like a butterfly, close to a masquerade mask.

Natsume raised an eyebrow. They were serious—those weapons could do some serious damage if you knew how to use them properly, and if they were in SAGA's hand, who knows how much damage they could do.

"Are you ready?" Mikan asked. Her voice was thick and serious.

Her members nodded solemnly.

Natsume strained to read her lips.

"Matsuri…are you doing well?"

Her eyes were soft and sad, and at that moment, the great Natsume Hyuuga felt his heart stir.

"LET'S GO!!" Mikan screamed, stabbing her pole into the ground, as Hotaru and Misaki unraveled their whips.

Her expression changed immediately to anger.

Anna, Nonoko, Misaki and Hotaru all held onto Mikan, who closed her eyes, and within a few minutes, they all disappeared.

"Well," Tsubasa said, "We should get moving too."

Everyone held onto Natsume and they teleported.

* * *

**Near the Hotel****…****Frozen Sakura waiting for Target, Hellfire, Hidden.**

The hotel was very large, and very beautiful. Several trees and bushes surrounded it, and the building itself was built beautifully.

SAGA waited on the rooftop.

The wind blew lightly, causing their hair to flutter dangerously in the wind.

Hellfire waited on the ground, though. Mikan probably was going to use an Alice to support their fall, and none of the Hellfire members had a multiple Alice or any Alice that could do that. But if they were just going to jump without support, Natsume was only trained to jump a certain number of stories, and this hotel was certainly too high.

But he snapped out of his thoughts when a man came out covered in blood from behind a tree.

_Is he __Takeshii__Mifuyuu_

Judging from the man's expression, he probably was. His expression was like a maniac, with knives in his hands and blood splattered on his clothes, hands and face.

"Are you Tekeshii Mifuyuu?"

Even though Mikan stood several stories above, they could hear her loud clear.

Tekeshii laughed maniacally.

"What if I am?! Are you a girl?! CAN I KILL YOU?!"

Natsume figured that Mikan would have smirked.

"Unfortunately,"

SAGA had jumped from the building and landed with amazing speed.

"We have no intention of letting you kill us, good sir!"

Mikan head-butted the killer in the stomach, and then kicked his head and knocked him to the ground. Hotaru had wrapped the Alice prevention rope around him, and double-knotted it. Misaki took the other ones and wrapped it around his legs, while Nonoko took the knives he held. Anna placed her pole under his chin, to show that she was serious, and she could break his neck if she wanted to.

Natsume could hear Yuu, Koko and Tsubasa gulp.

Anna and Nonoko had always seemed sweetest out of all of them, but here, they could see that they were dangerous when they wanted to be.

And as for Mikan, she had knocked out the serial killer in no time at all.

"Well then," the brunette said, her voice carrying some unreadable tone.

"How shall we talk to you?"

Although everyone in SAGA had an emotionless face, Natsume could tell they had either an amused or mischievous look in their eyes.

Hotaru was definitely amused. Despite the cruelty, she could see why Mikan was their leader.

It's not like Hotaru herself wanted to be leader, but she probably would have quit the gang if it wasn't Mikan. Or someone similar to her. Even with Mikan's childish outbursts at times, what could she do? She didn't exactly lead a good life. She was abused and locked in a closet, dying of dehydration and starvation!

Misaki was half amused and half mischievous. She liked the way Mikan talked to the criminal and made them guilty. Everyone that had been caught by her never even attempted to break out of jail. But Misaki also felt like torturing Mr.Mifuyuu, too…

Anna and Nonoko were like Misaki, both amused and mischievous. Anna could seriously break this guy's neck, but she wasn't planning on doing that. Plus, wouldn't he die? That would probably count her as a murderer…or something. But whatever. Hey, maybe she could test some of her new cooking experiments on him…

Nonoko was wondering weather she could test out a new mixture on him too…

Mikan smirked.

"Let's see, then…" She placed her foot on his stomach, as he was laying face-up.

"Takeshii Mifuyuu…you broke up with your girlfriend recently, right?"

"Is that the reason for all the stupid-ass murders of girls?" Hotaru said, her voice full of disgust.

Takeshii just smirked maniacally. Did everything he do have to look maniacal?

"Hmmm, what else…"

"Ah!" Anna said, realizing something. "I believe that it was because he forgot her birthday! And then she got pissed off, she threw a necklace she gave him previously, and marched off."

They could see the murderer twitch.

"Oh? Then, we have a special song for you, Mifuyuu…"

They all smirked.

**(Mikan) **It took too long  
It took too long  
It took to long for you to call back  
And normally I would just forget that  
Except for the fact it was my birthday  
My stupid birthday

I played along  
I played along  
I played along  
rolled right off my back  
But obviously my armor was cracked  
What kind of a boyfriend would forget that?  
Who would forget that?

**(Anna and Nonoko) **The type of guy who doesn't see  
What he has until she leaves  
Don't let me go  
Cause without me, you know you're lost  
Wise up now or pay the cost  
Soon you will know

**(Miskai) **You're not livin' till you're livin'  
Livin' with me  
You're not winnin' till you're winnin'  
Winnin' me  
You're not gettin' till you're gettin'  
Gettin' to me  
You're not livin' till you're livin'  
living for me

**(Hotaru) **This is the potential breakup song  
Our album needs just one  
Oh baby please  
Please tell me

(**Mikan) **We got along  
We got along  
We got along until you did that  
Now all I want is just my stuff back  
Do you get that?  
Let me repeat that  
I want my stuff back

You can send it in a box  
I don't care just drop it off  
I won't be home  
Cause without me, you know you're lost  
Minus you I'm better off  
Soon you will know

**(Miskai) **You're not livin' till you're livin'  
Livin' with me  
You're not winnin' till you're winnin'  
Winnin' me  
You're not gettin' till you're gettin'  
Gettin' to me  
You're not livin' till you're livin'  
living for me

**(Everyone) **You can try, you can try  
You know I know it'd be a lie  
Without me you're gonna die  
So you better think clearly, clearly  
Before you nearly, nearly  
Mess up the situation that your gonna miss dearly, dearly  
C'mon

You're not livin' till you're livin'  
Livin' with me  
You're not winnin' till you're winnin'  
Winnin' me  
You're not gettin' till you're gettin'  
Gettin' to me  
You're not livin' till you're livin'  
living for me

This is the potential breakup song  
Our album needs just one  
Oh baby please  
Please tell me

This is the potential make-up song  
please just admit you're wrong  
Which will it be?  
Which will it be?

Hellfire listened to the song, mesmerized. It wasn't necessarily just talking, but a song.

But they could all see that Takeshii turned over and was now crying silently.

Mikan sighed.

"Well. They could be real tears, or fake. But I'm going to strip you of your Alice, Mifuyuu."

The brunette touched the man, and they both glowed white for a bit, then the light disappeared.

"Ah! Sakura-san!"

They all heard another male's voice, and light shone from a flashlight.

A man dressed in a police-officer's outfit walked up to them.

"Thanks for catching the criminal! I'll take it from here," he said, reaching out a hand.

"You're welcome, um…You're new, aren't you?" What's you name?"

"Oh, yeah…My name's Kiseki Kuuri."

Mikan smiled, and the policeman smiled back.

"Uh, just so you know, I know everyone involved with the police, even the new policemen, and there's no 'Kiseki Kuuri'."

And in a blink of an eye, this man named Kiseki was down and tied up, too.

"So you guys are partners? Damn, sensei didn't get the information exact…"

"Mikan-san?"

Another masculine voice entered the scene.

"Ah, Kouichi-san. Apparently there were two criminals in partnership. This Kiseki guy doesn't have an Alice, so deal with him like any other normal guy…Mifuyuu here has been stripped of his Alice."

The real policeman, Kouichi, smiled gratefully.

"Thank you very much as always, Mikan-san. Hotaru-san, Misaki-san, Anna-san, and Nonoko-san, too. You girls are a big help."

Mikan smiled, and waved her hand.

"Are you gonna take them or what?"

Kouichi smiled again and motioned his hand behind him, other policemen dragging the criminals into a police car.

As soon as they left, Mikan sighed, and stretched.

"Hyuuga, you guys can come out now."

Natsume, Koko, Yuu, Ruka and Tsubasa stepped out of the bushes, covered in leaves.

"Whoa!" Misaki gasped. "Why the hell are you guys here?"

"Classified information," Tsubasa answered, brushing off the leaves.

But while he said that, all the members of Hellfire thought,

_We forgot to use the other Alice stone__…_

Mikan sighed again, as if she was annoyed they had been followed. But then she smiled widely.

"But since we're all here, let's all go to the café near here! It's not everyday we get out of the Academy, and they didn't say we had to be back by a certain time."

Natsume raised an eyebrow.

"Why do we have to come? And why can't you just run away? Most people would kill to escape from the Academy."

"Do you want me to kill you? We don't have a home to go back to, anyway."

"…"

"Well then, let's go!" Anna shouted, raised a hand into the air.

So Hellfire was dragged into going to a café with SAGA.

"By the way," Yuu said timidly, "Why do you not kill or inflict any serious injuries on any of the criminals you get?"

The brunette stared at the straw-color haired boy.

"Wow, Tobita," She said. "I never imagined something like that would come from you! But the reason is, that…well…I guess that the feeling of someone dying in your hands is too much for me to handle. Plus, wouldn't that make us murders too? In a way?"

The female leader had turned so none of them could see her expression, but Natsume caught a glimpse of a crystal tear.

"You guys know about Matsuri, right?" Nonoko added. "Matsuri was murdered."

"We don't want to drop down to the same level as the guy who killed her," Anna said.

"Matsuri wouldn't want that anyway," Miskai said.

"…" Hotaru said nothing.

"And," Koko added. "Did Anna really break up with her boyfriend recently?"

Anna's jaw dropped.

"You stupid ass mind reader! I hate you!"

"Well," Mikan said, smiling. "The guy was one hell of an idiot to drop our little Anna, then, right? We can get him later, if you want."

Anna shook her head.

"But I'd like to sing that song once again, though. Plus, I was the one who broke up with him. The situation was a little bit like Mifuyuu's—he forgot my birthday. Singing cleanses my soul, anyway."

Everyone laughed.

Everyone laughed.

_"It took too long  
It took too long  
It took to long for you to call back  
And normally I would just forget that  
Except for the fact it was my birthday  
My stupid birthday_

_I played along  
I played along  
I played along  
rolled right off my back  
But obviously my armor was cracked  
What kind of a boyfriend would forget that?  
Who would forget that?"_

Natsume stared at the brunette.

She was laughing, the wind caressing her hair.

_"We got along  
We got along  
We got along until you did that  
Now all I want is just my stuff back  
Do you get that?  
Let me repeat that  
I want my stuff back"_

All that could be heard was the girls' laughter and singing, and everything seemed perfect.

But Natsume studied the brunette once more.

_What are you hiding under that smile, girl?_

* * *

**Hm****, that was quite a long chapter. Well, to me anyway. **

**Part of the song took up basically two pages, ****lol****. XD **

**The song was ****"****The Potential Breakup Song****"**** by ****Aly**** and AJ.**

**I clicked on an AMV on ****Youtube****, and it had this song, and it was pretty cool so****…****yeah. ****Haha**** XD**

**Umm****…****so, yeah.**

**I hope it wasn****'****t ****violent, the**** whole ****murderer****/Takeshii ****scene****, I****'****m not really too fond or great at those, anyway****…**

**And just so no one gets the wrong idea, I have nothing against females--Imma girl too, y'know! **

**Dhuurr****…****I ****dunno**** what to say, ****lol.**

**So, as always, please review!**

**:D**


	7. Bitter and not Sweet

**Yay****! Chapter 7!**

* * *

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP…SMASH!

Natsume groaned as his alarm clock went off, but he smashed the machine as he rolled over, his body aching.

He didn't even want to remember the night at the little café…

It started out pretty nicely, but…

**Flashback****…**

"HELL YES! I haven't been here in forever!!" Mikan shouted, slapping Anna's hand.

"They have the best cakes here," Nonoko squealed.

Both Hellfire and SAGA stood in front of a white café, which looked old and run down. It wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. So it was medium-sized.

Hellfire walked (dragged) in after SAGA.

"Yomi-saaaan!" Mikan called cheerfully.

A short, black-haired girl wearing bunny ears and a maid's uniform appeared.

"It's Mikan-chan!!" She said, clapping her hands together. "Guys, come out! It's Mikan and the rest of the gang!!"

Seven other girls came out, wearing differently-colored maid uniforms.

Mikan sweat-dropped.

"You guys love cosplaying as usual…"

Yomi got a mischievous grin on her face.

"That's riiiight," She said. "Buuuut, without you here, I've made so many clothes that I don't know who to test them oooonnn…."

Mikan's eyes bulged. She looked horrified.

"Um, wow. Hey, lookit, we should be getting back to the Academy—"

She started out the door, but the seven members of the café and the rest of SAGA grabbed her.

The brunette gasped.

"Nonoko! Anna! Misaki! Even Hotaru! You betrayed me!!"

"We haven't seen you in some of their clothes in a while, Mikan-chaaan," Anna and Nonoko chorused together.

"Plus, I can sell you pictures and make a lot of money," Hotaru added in, a small camera in hand.

"Hotaru!"

"What the hell is going on?" Natsume said, raising an eyebrow.

Mikan blushed angrily. "These…these _morons _are here! I REFUSE!"

"You're the one who dragged us here," Natsume commented, amused.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO! SOMEONE SAVE MEEE!!!"

Mikan disappeared behind the counter, the seven café members holding her captive.

"Yay! Victory!" Misaki flashed a V sign to the rest of the members.

"What WAS that about?" Koko asked, confused like the rest of Hellfire.

Misaki sat down at the large table with ten chairs. "Yomi-san runs this café with seven other people, Yuuki, Misa, Kuri, Kana, Ami, Miki and Suki. This café would technically be called a cosplay café, because Yomi and everyone loved to cosplay."

"Yomi-san makes all of the clothes," Anna said, "We used to come here all the time with Matsuri and the old gang—they serve the best cakes here, like Nonoko-chan said, so we were often the test subjects. Guinea pigs, basically."

"But Yomi-san always liked dressing Mikan and Matsuri up, especially," Nonoko laughed.

"Shut up back there!" Mikan yelled.

"Waiii! Mikan-chan, you look so cute!!" Yomi squealed.

"Mikan, get out here so we can see," Hotaru demanded, camera reading.

"No."

"…"

"Misaki, if you please?" Anna and Nonoko sighed.

Soon, the whole room was filled with doppelgangers of Misaki.

"Nooo!"

Soon after, the female gang leader was dragged out, protesting.

But the maids of the café squealed with Anna, Nonoko, and Misaki, while Hotaru snapped away, and the males blushed.

Mikan's hair was long and silky, with a white ribbon holding together some hair on the back of her head. She wore a long-sleeved white dress that trailed behind her, with large sleeves. The front was cut so you could see her legs, and one of the maids put her into long, white boots. The dress was a bit puffy, with lots of lace and other layers, to create something mystical.

She looked very similar to a princess from a fairytale.

"It's hard to walk…" She muttered, as she stumbled forwards, trying not to dirty the cloth that was flowing from behind.

"Mikan-chan! You look adorable!"

"But something's missing…" Yomi said, examining the brunette, tapping her chin.

"It's a tiara!" Misaki exclaimed.

"Ami, get the new one that just shipped in today!"

One of the maids disappeared behind the counter, and came back carrying a beautiful, sparkling tiara. It was soon placed on top of Mikan's head.

It held three diamonds, slightly rainbow, with the silver tiara designs entwined around it, to make something that looked it came directly out of a book.

"A true princess…" Tsubasa murmured, smirking.

Mikan held her hand out, and an icicle formed.

It was immediately thrown at the shadow-caster's head.

"A-And a v-violent one, at t-that…" He stuttered, as the icicle just missed him.

Mikan glared at the Hellfire members, who were blushing, though Natsume hid his very well.

"Say…Yomi-san, how would you like to dress them up?"

"But Yomi-san only makes clothes for girls, right?" Anna said, confused.

"Right. But with a wig and some makeup, they could make some really pretty girls, don't you think?" Mikan's face was distorted into an evil smile, though somehow unnoticed by Yomi and the 7 maids.

Yomi's face brightened.

"Mikan! That's a fabulous idea!"

"…"

**End Flashback**

Natsume groaned. Did he even want to remember?

He never knew someone could get so drunk on sugar.

**Flashback**

_After __Yomi__ and the 7 maids and SAGA forced all of Hellfire into __costumes…_

"Waiii! Thanks so much, Yomi-san!"

"Well, it's the least I can do after you offered to be my models! Eat up—I won't charge you!!"

"TSUBASA!! Don't get Yomi-san's wig dirty! It's falling into the cake, dammit!" Misaki scolded.

Yomi giggled as she examined the Hellfire members again.

Tsubasa's hair was long and blue, and he wore a light blue dress with heels.

Koko's hair was smoothed down so it wasn't spiky, and he looked very much like a girl with short hair. His clothes consisted of a shorter yellow dress and brown boots that covered his legs.

Ruka's blonde hair was now a little below his shoulders, and he wore a blue-and-white dress that matched his eyes, and white boots.

And last but not least, Natsume sat scowling, looking the (prettiest) handsomest of them all. His hair was long and raven colored, and he wore golden earrings. He wore a long, princess like (similar to Mikan's) dress, and black boots. Yomi-san also pinned a large rose in his hair, and applied some red lipstick.

"Hahaha!! Natsume looks so pretty!!" Mikan laughed, cracking up. "He makes a pretty good cross-dresser—you could really fool someone with that!!"

The flame caster punched the brunette's head.

"Stop laughing!"

_After some time__…_

"AHAHAHAHAA!!"

After several cakes and lots of drinks with caffeine, Mikan was going crazy.

"Mikan, Mikan, calm down!!" Anna said, desperately trying to keep the leader calm.

"Don't be so stiff!! Enjoy the sugar!!"

Natsume sighed as he stabbed a piece of cake. They should get going soon.

Plus he didn't want to stay in the stupid makeup and dress any longer.

"AHHH! That's MY cake!!" Mikan shouted, waving her arms like a little kid.

"Well, it's mine now."

"…"

And thus a fight between both leaders erupts over a little piece of cake…

**End Flashback**

His body still ached from the fight.

He never wanted to see a piece of cake again.

He made a mental note to never go to the café again.

And most of all, he made a mental note not to feed sugar to the leader of Frozen Sakura.

**7:26 AM, Students on their way to Class****…**

Natsume met up with his gang members as usual.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"G'morning…" Tsubasa finally said.

"Yeah…"

"Sure…"

"Oh…"

"…"

"…"

"Heyyy! Good Morning!"

They all heard the cheerful voice of the brunette as she greeted her own gang.

"…"

"Run for it," Koko concluded. "Before she sees you."

"Too late…" Ruka sighed, as the brunette and the rest of SAGA ran over to them.

"Hey…guys? Would you happen to know what happened after you and I were forced into costumes? The rest of my group isn't telling me." She said, head cocked to the side.

"…"

All five members stared at her in shock.

"You…"

"Don't…"

"Remember…?"

Koko, Tsubasa and Ruka said, mouths open. Natsume kept his usual emotionless expression.

"Eh? Remember what? Did I do something I'm not remembering…?"

"…"

"Natsume-sama, the torture…it gave me nightmares…" Tsubasa said, waterfalls of tears pouring out of his eyes. "My feet still hurt from those heel things, too…"

"You…" Natsume started. "We're never going to that café again."

Mikan just blinked.

She liked the cake there, but that fact that Yomi might dress them up again…

"And I never want to see a cake again," Natsume muttered to himself.

* * *

**Fourth Period, Home Economics**

"And so, we'll be baking a cake today! Please split into groups of five and use the provided recipe books to choose a cake you'd like to bake."

"…"

Natsume slapped his forehead. Spoke too soon.

"How about a strawberry cake?!!" Mikan squealed, in a group with Anna, Nonoko, Hotaru and Misaki. Figures.

"Chocolate cake is good, too," Anna said. "But…"

"I think we had enough chocolate cake at Yomi's Café," Nonoko put in.

"Heyy, this wedding cake looks really pretty," Misaki said.

"We're not making a wedding cake," Hotaru said.

"Nu-uh, we've decided on a regular strawberry cake. You know-- the layers of sponge cake and strawberries in between? And the cream and then the strawberry on top?" Mikan explained.

Hotaru flicked Mikan's forehead.

"I know what a strawberry cake is, idiot."

"Well then, our group is making strawberry shortcake, then!" Misaki said.

"Natsume, what about a cheesecake?" Tsubasa suggested.

"Yeah, those are really good. Natsume loves strawberries, so maybe we can make a strawberry cheesecake." Koko said.

"Ah, those are good, too," Yuu piped up.

"What do you think, Natsume?" Ruka said, looking at his friend.

"…I don't care."

"Then it's decided," Ruka concluded. "Our group is making a strawberry cheesecake."

"Alright. Recipes are in the book, so get to work!" the teacher called, ringing a bell.

Several students went to the refrigerator and cupboard for ingredients, and the bowls and mixing utensils were already at separate kitchens.

"Let's see…Koko, go kill some graham crackers. Yeah, just stick 'em in a bag and squish." Tsubasa instructed.

"I'll go get some butter and cream cheese!" Ruka called.

"Ah, I'll go get the sugar…" Yuu said.

Natsume sighed. Relying on other people's blood and sweat was much easier. But why were they so worked up about making this cake, anyway?

He looked at his group and sighed again, walking over to the refrigerator, grabbing some strawberries and lemons.

"Ahhh! Nonoko, you're going to add apples?! What for?!" the flame-caster heard the brunette shriek.

"Because apples taste good!!" Nonoko argued.

"Noooo! It's a strawberry cake!! S-T-R-A-W-B-E-R-R-Y! Ichigo!!"

"Shut up, idiots!" Hotaru called, splatting some cream on both Nonoko and Mikan.

"Ah, Hotaru-chan, that's mean!" Misaki said, mixing ingredients in a bowl.

"Attaaack!" Mikan laughed, flinging some cream back at Hotaru, which hit her in the face.

"…"

"Leader, you should stop before--"

Cream was thrown into Misaki's hair.

"You've done it now!" Anna yelled, flinging more cream wildly, as it hit Koko.

"Hey!!"

"Jerk!"

"Get back here!!"

"Students, please stop!!" The teacher screamed, but instead of everyone calming down, she was struck with cream, too.

"Ahahaha!!" Mikan laughed, as she threw some at Natsume.

Batter, eggs, fruits, water, everything was thrown at another.

"Ready?!" Mikan warned Natsume, as she wound up her arm.

"Of course. You're the one without your guard." He warned back.

_SPLAT!!_

Instead of hitting each other, the teacher, who walked between them, was hit with cream and batter.

"Natsume Hyuuga and Mikan Sakura!! You will clean up this mess!!"

"Ahhh…Unfair…Hotaru-chan started it, after all…" Mikan whined, mopping up the thrown cream and batter, among other things.

"You continued it, though, baka," Natsume said.

It was already getting dark, and they were almost finished mopping everything up.

Soon afterwards, Mikan and Natsume were done.

They sighed and stared at each other.

"Pffftt…"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

They burst out laughing.

"Hahaha…"

"Hehehe…"

Natsume stared at Mikan and smiled.

It was a small one,

But pure and genuine.

Who knew he could smile like that again?

But he turned serious as Mikan stopped laughing.

"Oi," He called. "What are you hiding?"

How blunt.

He expected the brunette to be surprised.

But she smiled.

"Do you really want to know? You've read my file, haven't you? You hacked into the Headmaster's student files."

"…How do you know?"

"I have my ways."

"…"

"My mother. Azumi Yuka. She's in the AAO. I think you know that…when I first transferred here. Eavesdropper."

"…!!"

"Well, I was abused. The AAO hate this academy, looking for several ways to take down the school, or to kidnap the children and sell them. They think they're doing good or something. I don't really get the point of the Organization, they're Alices themselves, and what good are they doing by selling us Alices of the Academy like slaves?"

"So anyway, my mother threatened me to help her bring down the Academy. I don't get why she need me, though, because she has the Alice to steal or copy others…and I refused. My gang attended there, how could I? So basically, I was locked up in a room and I starved, before people came to find me."

"…"

"I hate dark and small spaces. So I'm pretty much claustrophobic. This is the story you already know."

"…"

"I'm being sent on missions, usually retrieving stolen objects from the AAO. While I'm there, I sneak around and spy. I'm basically planning on taking on my mother."

"Hmmm…so Persona's using you as his chess piece instead of me, huh?"

"Haha…well, a sacrifice is what I really am. Trying to protect things that are dear without injuring them…"

"So what are you going to do with your mother…?"

"I'm going to alter her memory. So that she doesn't remember anything about having a child, killing her husband, the AAO, and Alices."

"You're going to take away her Alice?"

"Yeah."

"…"

Mikan sighed and leaned against a wall.

"I really don't know what to do anymore…"

Natsume also leaned on the wall, so that they were next to each other.

"Do what you think is right. It might not always be, but…" Natsume said awkwardly.

The brunette stared at him and laughed.

"Natsume, cheering me up?"

She ran to the door, but turned around as she grabbed the doorknob.

"Thanks…Natsume." She closed one eye and stuck her tongue out. "But remember, we're enemies!"

She left and closed the door, leaving Natsume dumbfounded.

The flow of her hair, her smile, her voice, and the gentle smell…

_"__My heart beats like a drum, like a drum, __dum__ dum__ dum, __dum__ dum__ dum__…"_

* * *

**Blargh****…****the ending bit of where Natsume and Mikan clean up is kind of awkward. XD**

**Sorry it took so long to write this chapter. :****sweatdrop:**

**Somehow, this just got really complicated...I don't know how. Maybe its my writer's block... **

**The last line is a line from a song by ****"****ATC****"****"****My Heart Beats Like a Drum****"**

**Well****…****so, yeah****…**

**There****'****s really nothing me for me to say****…**

**So****…****yeah****…**

**Please review?!**


	8. Spiraling Down, Crumbling

**Writer's Notes: **Whee! I decided to do this new format, just to keep everything organized. And I felt like a change. This way is easier, anyway…-.-;; It's just a minor change. XD

Anyway, here's the eighth chapter. The scenes alternate here, so hopefully you won't get too confused…And this is where everything gets kinda twisted…-.-;;

* * *

Three weeks had already passed.

How fast…

And boring.

But today, Mikan dressed in her Kamikaze coat, the same outfit that she wore when she captured Takeshii Mifuyuu and Kiseki Kuuri with the rest of SAGA.

She showed up to class, and merely gave SAGA a glance and nod each. She smiled at Natsume. 

"I'm going to be absent today. I…have some personal problems to take care of. I'll probably be back within the next three days or so. But I don't know." She told Narumi.

The teacher just nodded, and Mikan left without another word. 

_She's going to erase her mother's memory today…_Natsume thought, staring out the window. _She's better come back safe…_Hell, why was he worrying?

He glanced at Hotaru, who was still expressionless. He violet eyes showed nothing. He sighed and continued to look out the window. Well, she'd probably already told them, they were her gang after all…

"Well then, Mikan-chan has known about this, but today, we have a new student."

"Ehhhh?!"

"What's her name?"

"…Luna Koizumi."

* * *

"Tch," Mikan said, as she sat on a branch of a tall oak tree. "Too much security…"

Guards, guards, and more guards.

The brunette closed her eyes, and activated a tracking Alice.

_A white room…_

_Azumi Yuka..._

Mikan smirked.

"She knows I'm coming…she's waiting for me."

* * *

"Kyaaa! So pretty!!" someone squealed, as the new girl walked in.

Short and wavy blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes. 

"My name is Luna Koizumi, I have to soul-entrapping Alice" she stated confidently. "Please be nice to me…my Alice does shorten my lifespan…"

"Whoa, soul-entrapping? Sounds dangerous…"

Natsume, who was still looking out the window, caught Luna's eye.

_He's hot…and he has an empty seat next to him._

"Well, then, why don't you take a seat over there by—" Narumi started, but was cut off.

"I want to sit there, Narumi-sensei," Luna stated, pointing to Mikan's seat , which was nearest to Natsume.

"Hey…"

"She wants to sit by Natsume?"

"But Sakura-san sits there…"

Luna's eyes narrowed.

"Sakura? Who's she?" she snapped.

"Her name's Sakura Mikan…she's the leader of SAGA, or Frozen Sakura, Natsume-kun's gang, Hellfire." Someone random asked.

"Oh…I see. And where is she now?"

"Oh, she left today for something. She's not gonna be back for about three days…" the guy replied.

_BAKA BAKA BAKA!!_

Bam, bam, and bam, this dude just earned three hits from Hotaru's infamous Baka Gun.

"You dumbass," She hissed. "Who the hell gave you permission to give out our information?"

_I don't like that girl…_Hotaru thought.

Luna smirked.

This Mikan Sakura was close to her Natsume?

Well, let's take advantage of her absence…

* * *

"Hello, mother…" Mikan said, as she jumped from the roof and into the room through a hole she blew up, her feet tapping lightly against the shiny white floor as she landed.

"Why hello, dear daughter…I haven't seen you in quite some time. Still hanging out with those stupid brats?"

"Yes mother…they're called 'loved ones'. Something you never had."

"Of course I did…I loved your father."

"And you killed him?"

"I loved him so much that I had to kill him, dear."

Mikan narrowed her eyes.

"Oh? Did you? Well that doesn't matter, bitch. I don't consider you my mother anymore. And don't,"

Instantly, the brunette was in front of her mother, holding an icicle.

"Ever call me dear again…ugly hag."

Azumi Yuka smirked as she dodged the icicle.

"Tsk, tsk…who taught you such terrible language? I don't remember teaching you to be so vulgar."

"Yeah? You didn't teach my much of anything at all, _mother."_

"It's time to begin…"

Glass shattered and the building was lit on fire.

Blood splattered to the ground, water created tsunamis and the ground shook of an earthquake.

"_Do you wish to create a disaster, dear daughter?!"_

"_If it's necessary to kill you, mother!!"_

* * *

The Sakura Tree, a personal favorite and official hangout of Frozen Sakura.

Hotaru, who was typing on her laptop, shivered.

"What's wrong, Hotaru-chan?" Anna called, chewing some onigiri.

"…Must be my imagination…"

_Mikan, you idiot…you'd better come back alive!!_

"Imai."

The familiar, deep and masculine voice interrupted her thoughts.

"You know what happened to Sakura, right?"

Hotaru stared into the crimson eyes of Natsume Hyuuga.

"Of course…she's going to erase her mother's memory, or kill her, at the worst…" she replied.

"How come she went alone?" Tsubasa asked.

"You think we're going to butt into her problems? She wouldn't like that." Misaki told him, biting into one of the egg rolls in her bentou. 

"You not worried?" Ruka asked softly, and Hotaru glared at him.

"You think we're not? We never know what that idiot's thinking. She always hides her feelings!" Hotaru said, her voice a big higher-pitched than usual.

_Ah…damn…I think I'm going to cry._

"Mikan has never cried in front of us," Anna told them, pushing back her tears.

"Not even once…not even when she practically died form her mother's beatings," Nonoko added, her bags covering her eyes.

"And not even when she was found dehydrated and malnourished in a closet by the police," Misaki choked out.

"…**AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"**

Hellfire jumped back at the sudden scream of all the members, even Hotaru.

"SAKURA MIKAN, YOU BETTER COME BACK ALIVE, YOU…YOU BAKAAAAAA!!"

* * *

"I've got to fucking return alive," Mikan stated firmly, blood dripping down her head. "I'm not going to lose here, mother…"

Yuka smirked, but she also took a lot of damage.

"I've had the stealing Alice for far longer, Mikan," she said, lighting a fireball in her hand. "You still haven't completely managed to control every one of your stolen ones. Do you think you can beat me with such half-controlled Alices?"

Mikan gritted her teeth. Dammit.

"I originally planned to make you lose your memory,"

She started, biting her finger so blood dripped down her finger,

"But I guess I'll have to end up killing my dear mother…"

Mikan's blood dripped onto a random pebble on the ground, which formed into a sword.

Yuka smiked.

"Try it, dear, dear daughter…"

"I will, dear, dear mother…"

* * *

Luna bit her fingernail as she thought.

_Mikan Sakura…I've heard of her…she's the current leader of Frozen Sakura…or Butterfly…after that Matsuri girl died…_

Her face instantly brightened when she saw a flash of raven-coloured hair. 

"Na--"

And she stopped once she saw the members of SAGA, and narrowed her eyes.

Why was everything out of her reach?

If only she could use her Alice…but it shortened her lifespan…and plus, the headmaster made her wear some stupid bracelet that prevented her from using it…

_Well, I know my way around words…_

* * *

Three days…

Was how long this fight lasted.

Without sleep, and with several pills taken, to keep themselves awake, to keep the energy to use their Alices, and food and water. 

Mikan broke a brown pill with her teeth.

She wouldn't last much longer, and she figured her mother wouldn't either. 

And she was running out of pills…God; she had already taken so many…what about the consequences…the side affects? Would she be able to handle those, since some already started to take effect?

"Dammit," Mikan cursed under her breath, clapping her hands together and then slammed them onto the ground.

The ground immediately began to shake with great force. An earthquake Alice…

_I'm not going to be able to keep this up…_Mikan thought; _Strong Alices always have a price to pay…plus the power is weakening…_

The brunette touched her side and winced. 

Bruises were already forming on her body…from both the pills and the overuse of Alices. 

Azumi Yuka seemed to be weakening also. Sweat plastered her hair to her head, and it seemed like her side effects were worse—her left hand seemed to be paralyzed. 

_Well…now, it's just a battle to the death…_

* * *

"Well now, if it isn't the little rats…" Luna said, butting into the emotional…thing SAGA was having.

"Ah, Luna-Koizumi, isn't it?" Koko said.

Luna ignored him. 

"Hmmm…where's Mikan-san? I guess she's left you," she continued, as Anna gritted her teeth.

"Mikan's….Mikan's going to be fine!! And she hasn't left us!!"

Luna sighed and shrugged.

"What makes you think she's _really _coming back? _Matsuri-san _died and left you didn't she? What makes you think Sakura-san isn't going to do the same thing?" 

Nonoko narrowed her eyes.

"I don't know how you know about Matsuri, Koizumi, but we trust Mikan. Now please leave."

"Trust is such a fragile thing…it can break so easily. What makes you think…that Sakura-san is going to come back _alive?"_

"OI!!" Tsubasa shouted. "What the hell are you trying to get at, bitch?!"

The blonde-haired girl smirked.

"Nothing, I'd like to create a single group with everyone. Have…what were your names? Ah, Hellfire and Frozen Butterfly…or was it Frozen Sakura?"

Hotaru, who hadn't been paying much attention before, whipped around to look at Luna, her eyes wide.

"No one beside Mikan knows our true name. And possibly Hyuuga's group…how…?"

Luna raised her head, like some haughty girl looking down on them. 

"I know everything about every one of you…my Daddy is amazing, you know…"

"You…!!" Misaki shouted.

"Misaki Harada…sexually harassed by her own father…"

Misaki shut up and she stared at Luna with wide eyes.

"_Misaki…take off your clothes."_

"_Give me some entertainment, Misaki…"_

_**Someone…take away this man!! Mother…won't you…believe me?**_

"You…you….!" Misaki choked out. _Oh, god_…_I don't…want to…remember…my own….disgusting past._

"Misaki!! Don't listen to what she's saying--" Anna began, but was also interrupted by Luna.

"Anna Umenomiya…they say parents don't hate their children, but in this case…your parents hated you with everything they had."

"_What the hell are you doing in the kitchen?!"_

"_Don't be a smartass just because you can make those freakish recipes and made them move!!"_

_**They never even called me by my name…**_

"Stop this!!" Koko shouted, hugging Anna. "Whatever's in the past doesn't matter!!"

"Oh Really? Kokoro Yome, left by his parents in the streets to die…"

"_Never come back to this house!!"_

"_Look at that child…he's dirty…looking for food in a garbage can?"_

_**Augh…Someone...please, please…please…help me…**_

"Ah…ugh…stop…this…!!" Misaki sobbed. "Stop it…I don't want to remember…!!"

Endless tears…?

Luna smirked. Breakdown was successful…

She looked at Nonoko who was comforting Misaki.

"Nonoko Ogasawara…" and glanced at Tsubasa , " And Tsubasa Andou…treated like freaks, because of your Alices…"

"_Oh my God!! What the hell did you create, Nonoko?! Your failures of potions can make the school explode!!"_

_**I only wanted…to make a medicine…for my mother…she's…she's going to die soon…**_

"_LEMME GO ANDOU!! I don't care!! Someone who can paralyze others with shadows are just freaks!! FREAKS!! GO DIE!!"_

_**I was only trying to help…was that…wrong?**_

"Nonoko-san…Tsubasa-kun…!" Yuu shouted, trying to comfort his friends.

"Yuu Tobita, always beaten by his drunken father…"

"_Wha, you smartass! You tryin' to –hic- impres' me or sumfin'? Dun' git cocky wif just a mere 'undred!!"_

_**It…hurts…!! I...only wanted…you to praise me…**_

"Ah…" Yuu dropped to his knees. "My father…he…never showed a shred of love…to me…nor mother…"

"Stop this, bitch," Hotaru said firmly.

She's been through enough. Nothing could penetrate her now. 

"Hmmm…you were rather difficult, Hotaru Imai. Nothing major…I guess-"

Hotaru narrowed her eyes.

"After being sold to pay off a loan of 100 million yen by her father."

The inventor's eyes widened.

"_We don't want you anymore, anyways…so…we're selling you…only for a mere 50 million yen, only half of what we need…"_

…_**Bastards…you're all…YOU BASTARDS!! **_

Hotaru bit her lip until it bled and looked away.

Dammit…she'd already gotten over this!!

"Imai-san?!" Ruka called out, reaching out his hand. "You're bleeding!"

"Ruka Nogi, practically killed by his younger sister…"

"_You bastard, Ruka! I hate you! If only you would just leave, mother and father would look at me, instead of you!! GO TO HELL!!"_

_**I thought…that…I had to set…a good example…as…an elder brother…?**_

Luna, finally turned to look Natsume Hyuuga straight in the eyes.

"Natsume Hyuuga…the Fire Alice…killed his own family."

"_AHH!!"_

"_Onii-chan, it hurts!! It hurts!! Stop! Stop! It hurts so much, on…ii…ch….a…n."_

_**Aoi!! Stop, stop, why? Why did this happen?! Mom, Dad?! Anyone?! Stop! This wasn't supposed to happen! This wasn't me! It was an accident!! Someone, believe me!! Augh…stop it…!!**_

"You poor, poor, children…" Luna cooed gently afterwards. "It's alright now. Mikan Sakura is sure as dead. I'll care for you from now on, okay? Don't show emotions to anyone else…only to me…"

Misaki wiped her tears away, and looked at Luna, still drawing in breath shakily.

_Darkness is such a strong thing. There is nothing to fear more than fear itself._

_But we still have fears._

"Luna-san…thank you."

_We need the light…hurry…soon._

"Mmmhm…" Anna agreed.

Hotaru glared at Luna through her tears.

_Dammit…Mikan…you have to stop her…!!_

Misaki, Anna, Nonoko, Tsubasa, Yuu, Koko, Ruka, and Natsume, walked over to Luna's side. 

"Hotaru…?" Anna said hoarsely, from crying too much.

The violet-eyes girl glared at the former members of SAGA.

"I'm not going," she hissed.

"Ho--" Misaki started.

"I'm not going. I don't know what the hell came over you guys to betray Mikan. I'm not going."

She turned to look at Natsume, stared at him coldly for a few minutes, and then faced them all. Luna bit her lip. Damn. She was missing one? But whatever…she got the majority. 

"I thought you were all better than this." Hotaru said, her voice cracking slightly.

"Mikan's dead, Hotaru," Nonoko said.

"SO YOU IMMEDIATELY THINK SHE'S DEAD, JUST BECAUSE THAT…_BITCH _SAID SO?!" Hotaru screamed.

_Damn! I'm losing it._

"Shut up, Hotaru! Koizumi-san was the only one who recognized our problems!! What did Mikan ever do for us?!" Anna shouted back.

Shock filled Hotaru's body.

_What did Mikan do for us?!_

"What kind of fucking question is that, Anna Umenomiya?!"

Crystal tears rolled down the inventor's face. 

Both former Hellfire and SAGA members froze.

Hotaru Imai, known as the Ice Queen, for not showing emotions. No one ever thought she cared…much. She just never showed emotions and everyone was fine with that.

"Hotaru—" Misaki began.

"Closing your fucking mouth. I don't want to hear your voice." The inventor hissed.

Oh, Kami-sama, she was pissed. Infuriated.

"Stay away from both Mikan and I. Reflect on what you idiots have done. And it's up to Mikan is she'll accept you back."

"They don't want to go back—"

Luna this time, but she was cut off by a slap from Hotaru.

"You'd better close your own fucking mouth, Koizumi."

She gave one last glare, a death glare, to Natsume.

_To think that you'd be the only one who could protect her!! _Hotaru though, biting her lip until it bled again.

She could see shock in the fire-caster's eyes.

She walked away, wiping off her bloody lip on her sleeve.

_Is this the end…of Frozen Butterfly…?_

* * *

"Ugh…" Mikan moaned, bleeding in several places already. She coughed, spitting out blood along with it. "Dammit, is this the end?" She said, her clothes ripped, blood splattered everywhere, and the terrain ruined. Her eyes blurred slightly, but she could still see her mother.

Bloody, damaged and unconscious.

Could she…still…erase her memory?

Mikan inched forwards, little by little, pain shooting through her body with every movement.

_Can I last enough…to…use another…Alice?_

And, after what seemed like ages, she reached her mother, and touched her hair. 

The older woman's body glowed for a moment, before she stirred.

Crap! The Memory Erasing Alice took a few moments to take effect...did her mother still have enough energy to do anything?! Damn, she was in a life/death situation right now…a knight in shining armor would be great just right about now!!

An icicle formed in Azumi Yuka's hands, before it was slammed into Mikan's side.

"Ugh!"

She rolled over a bit, so it missed a vital point, but still, with so many wounds on her exhausted body, she could just _break _any moment.

Her eyes blurred, and she closed her eyes. She could hear the _thud _of Yuka dropping unconscious. 

_Ah…_the brunette thought. _I won…_

And everything swirled to black.

_It was over, her battle was over, she won. She won._

_She could return to her gang now…they would be waiting for her._

_She could see Anna crying with Nonoko, Misaki laughing with tears of relief, Hotaru scolding…Ah, her only sanctuary…her peace…her life._

_Nothing…could go wrong now._

* * *

**Writer's Ending Notes: **OMG. You guys are probably like. "WTF?!", or are really mad at me.

Or crying, if you're emotional about these sorta things, like me. Or…I dunno.

I tried putting in some…feeling into it, I guess, the dramatic and sobbing sort of feeling, of when Luna revealed SAGA and Hellfire's pasts. They're all crying an in shock and stuff that the time.

The end part, that's in Mikan's point of view, sort of. Remember, she doesn't know her gang was all…split up.

Man…D:

Everything all messed up now. D: 

Please make sure to review!


	9. Together

**Author's Notes: **Okie, I updated as fast as I could. XP

Just a couple of notes due to my mistakes or things that are not clearly explained.

KOKO is also with Luna, I totally forgot to add his name when Hellfire and SAGA members switched sides. YUKA is NOT dead; she's just unconscious, as Mikan has successfully erased her memory.

Well then, here's chapter 9!

**EDIT**: I actually went back and changed some things, because somehow, even after I edit the chapter when I upload it, when I submit it so people can read it, the text gets all weird. It makes me mad and it kind of ruins the atmosphere of the story. So I've been deleting chapters and replacing them with the fixed ones, so I'm sorry for those who have my stories on Alert, and you get a bunch of weird emails. Just mark those as read or delete them. If something like this happened in the past or something happens in the future, just delete/mark as read those emails. Sorry for the problems. D: 

* * *

"Ugh…"

Her eyes opened slowly, but as they did, white light blinded her and they shut closed again.

She tried to move her arm to shield her eyes a bit, so she could see where the hell she was. But her arm ached, and it felt heavy; it wouldn't budge.

Although wherever she was lying felt comfortable. It was soft. A bed?

"Are you awake, Sakura-san?" a kind female voice asked. 

"…Where am I?" Mikan mumbled, not sure if the lady heard her.

"You're in a hospital, Sakura-san," she replied. A nurse. "You've been asleep for three weeks."

_Shit, that long?!_

"You do have a visitor, though," the nurse said.

'_Visitor'? Only one?_

"Although her visit does not seem to contain good news."

Mikan slowly opened her eyes again, getting used to the bright lights.

Hotaru stood next to her, and the nurse was gone.

"Hotaru."

The brunette tried to sit herself up, but ended up wincing in pain.

"Stay down." Hotaru told her, as she sat on the stool next to the bed. "Your body probably aches. You still need some more rest before you can get out and return to school."

Mikan smiled weakly. "Thanks for worrying. You're the only one coming to visit me? How's the rest of the gang doing?"

Hotaru hesitated.

Should she tell her? She's already been through a lot; maybe she wouldn't be able to handle the news.

"…do you remember Luna Koizumi?"

"….I see where this is going. But just to make sure, care to tell me the rest? Don't worry…I won't 'break' on you."

"…you used a mind-reading Alice?"

"I've mastered most Alices during the fight with my mother. I basically used all of them, you know…hm. I wonder if I slept longer than I needed to because my Alices are strengthening. Anyway, get on with it."

_She's changed. _Hotaru thought. _She's different now…_

"She's basically taken 'control' over Anna, Nonoko and Misaki, along with all of Hyuuga's gang. Including Hyuuga." Hotaru blurted out.

Mikan closed her eyes again.

_Nothing could go wrong._

_Fuck that._

She sighed.

_But it figures…everything important has been taken away from me for so long…_

"…Ne, Hotaru?" Mikan whispered. Hotaru looked at her.

"…Can I have a hug?" 

"Mikan…"

A tear slid down Mikan's cheek, and Hotaru leaned forwards, embracing the brunette into a hug. Tears welled up in the remaining member of Frozen Butterfly.

"This isn't the end," Mikan told her best friend firmly. "No matter how many members we've lost, you and I still are Frozen…Butterfly."

* * *

Four days later, Mikan recovered fully.

She was well enough to attend school again. 

She was well enough to go out on police missions again.

And she was well enough to deal whatever came her way again.

Even though she had won one battle, she would have to fight another one. 

Mikan was in her room, staring blankly into the mirror.

"Hurry up, idiot." Hotaru said, leaning in the doorway.

Hotaru wore her KamiKaze coat, bandages wrapped around her chest, a black skirt that was easy to maneuver in, and long black boots that went up to her knees.

Mikan smiled.

"I'm coming."

Mikan wore the same outfit, and she was currently tying her waist length hair into low pigtails.

"…Let's go."

**Classroom B…**

"Did you hear? Mikan Sakura's coming back today," A random student said, chatting with her friend.

"They say she was on the verge of death! The academy didn't say anything more about that…poor Sakura-san, though…"

"And that bitch Luna's taken over!!"

**SMASH!!**

The desks they were sitting at melted into a brown liquid by Anna and Nonoko, who poured Nonoko's potion onto them.

"Excuse me? What are you saying about Luna-chan?" Anna snapped, dropping the bottle so it smashed at the girls' feet.

"I believe they called her a bitch, Anna," Nonoko said, also dropping her bottle.

"T-That's right!" one girl bravely shot back.

Anna raised an eyebrow. 

"Looks like someone's got to drive these dogs into line," Nonoko said, holding up another bottle of mysterious liquid, and Misaki's clones neared the girls.

Luna watched in amusement with the former members of Hellfire.

Natsume was reading his manga, Ruka, Tsubasa, and Koko watching with Luna in amusement.

Yuu looked nervous.

He only went with Luna because he was scared. He was such a coward…why did he do such a thing?

None of them heard the girls' conversation. 

Narumi walked in, clapping his hands to signal the beginning of class, but all the members of Luna's 'gang' glared at him and he backed down.

"Ready, Anna?"

"Ready, Nonoko!"

They both held whips in their hands.

"And…Go!!"

The girls who made fun of Luna braced themselves for the attack. They had seen several other people get beaten by former SAGA and Hellfire members…this was going to hurt.

The door slid open just as the whip was going to be bought down.

But the weapon disappeared, the desk-liquid reformed itself into a desk, and the shattered glass flew into the garbage can.

"Narumi-sensei, sorry for being away for so long," Mikan said, as she and Hotaru walked in. "Although Hotaru and I have another mission to attend, it will only take a few minutes, so would it be possible to miss class for a bit?"

Natsume's eyes widened, and former SAGA members perked up.

"Mikan-chan…" Anna and Nonoko whispered.

Luna narrowed her eyes as the reaction from 'her' members. 

Mikan chatted with Narumi for a while, and she and Hotaru left the room, their coats trailing behind them.

The former SAGA and Hellfire members watched in a daze as the door closed.

…And opened again.

"Hey, Yuu Tobita? Would you come with us? Or would you stay with Luna?"

Yuu hesitated and glanced at the blond-haired girl who was glaring at him. He looked at Mikan again, his eyes pleading.

Mikan smiled, and snapped her fingers. 

Instantly, Yuu was teleported to Mikan and Hotaru's side.

"Anyone else?"

But they all recovered from shock of seeing her again, and glared at her.

They remembered what Luna had told them…

_Don't ever return to Sakura…she's dead, but there's always that one chance. I'll consider your leave an act of betrayal, and you'll face hell…_

"Yuu Tobita, do you know what this means?" Luna hissed.

Yuu trembled a little. That's right, him going to Mikan was an act of 'betrayal'.

"Sorry, Koizumi, but you're not winning against me. Either you use your Alice, my former members, or Hyuuga's members, I know all their Alices and what they can do…I can read everything like a book," Mikan said, wrapping a Kamikaze coat around Yuu, placing a hat on his head, and adding some sunglasses…just for fun.

"Let's go…Frozen Butterfly."

* * *

"Gah…! You…brats! You should sop playing round now that you've lost so much of your gang, Mikan Sakura!!" the criminal shouted, as Kouichi dragged him to the police car. 

"Hmph…Idiots." Mikan said, glancing into the distance.

_Yomi-san's café…_

Mikan closed her eyes.

"Mikan?" Hotaru said.

She knew what she was looking at. 

"It's alright…" Mikan said quietly. She turned to Yuu and smiled.

"At least Yuu-kun's come to his senses? Good work today, by the way. Your Alice really helped."

Yuu smiled back weakly.

He was always bullied, so hearing a compliment was nice…and he could see what Hotaru saw and the others didn't.

_She cares for others and smiled for them…that's her 'help' and 'what she did' for Frozen Sakura…she made them feel needed, but it was taken for granted…_

Mikan sighed and took out the ribbons holding her pigtails in place.

"What do you want, Koizumi?" Mikan said, turning towards the bushes.

"I'm surprised you noticed I was here." Luna said, coming out from the bushes, with Hellfire and SAGA members behind her, except for Mikan, Hotaru and Yuu. 

"Your eyes must be knotholes if you couldn't see anything." Mikan responded. "What do you want?"

"Don't talk to Luna that way!!" Misaki snapped harshly.

Although Mikan showed no emotion, she felt hurt inside.

_Misaki…_

"It's my choice who I want to talk to, and how I talk to them…Harada."

Misaki's eyes widened slightly and she stepped back.

_Harada…? She addressed me by my last name? We…used to be so close…._

"_Misaki, Misaki!! Look what I found! It's a four leaf clover! Here! I'll give it to you, so cheer up!"_

"Hotaru, how much time do we have? I need to get back by second period, I've already been out long enough…I need to make up the rest of my work."

"We still have half an hour…"

Mikan stared at Luna straight in the eye.

"What do you want to do? Fight?"

Luna smirked. 

"Of course. Attack!"

Mikan rolled her eyes.

With Natsume attacking head on, Misaki and her clones attacking from the side, and Anna and Nonoko with chemicals and others ready to be thrown at the back, Mikan, Yuu and Hotaru were surrounded. Not to mention with Ruka's animals closing in, Tsubasa ready to control shadows, and Koko out on the side for support, to read moves….the situation didn't look too good. 

"Do you need help?" Hotaru asked calmly. 

_Are you crazy?! _Yuu thought._Does she need help?! We're surrounded!_

"…No." Mikan responded.

_WHAT?!_

"These are my own kiddies I'm dealing with." 

Hotaru smiled, and brought out a necklace.

"We'll be heading back first."

She held Yuu's shoulders, and they teleported.

"You shouldn't have done that, Sakura," Tsubasa said. "You'll never be able to get out of this situation."

Mikan raised an eyebrow.

"Since when did you become such a conceited _bitch, _Andou?"

Natsume lit a flame his hands.

"Tch."

And it happened in three minutes.

Mikan activated her Nullification Alice, did a handstand a spun around, knocking several people out. As Nonoko's potions were thrown at her, her caught them and crushed them, and although the glass did cut her, the potion itself did not, due to her nullification Alice.

She formed icicles in her hands, but this time, three times as many as before, when she couldn't control it very well.

It stapled Tsubasa and Koko to the wall and trees, and made them bleed slightly. 

She had taken out every one of the members…except Natsume and Luna. 

_Damn…where did he go? _Mikan wondered.

She hadn't been paying attention. 

"I thought you were the one who told me not to be less naïve?!" Natsume shouted…

From above. 

Mikan moved out of the way just in time, as Natsume's fire plummeted to the ground, melting rocks and turning leaves to ashes. 

But as the fire didn't disintegrate, it caught the trees and bushes on fire.

With everything aflame, Luna bit her lip, and brought out an Alice stone…of teleportation.

She had asked one of the students to make it for her, although it only had one use, and teleported her self out of the area.

"Damn! So she's going to let the rest of them die?!" Mikan said furiously. 

She closed her eyes, and concentrated.

_Misaki…Anna, Nonoko… Koko, Tsubasa...Ruka...Natsume. Return to Alice Gakuen._

One by one, the members started to disappear, teleporting back to the academy. 

"Ugh…!!"

Mikan lost her concentration at the last moment, and winced, kneeling down, coughing.

_Shit!! I thought I healed?!_

She looked in front of her, and it seemed like Natsume was the only one who hadn't been able to return to the Academy.

Instead, he was freaking out.

"_Onii-chan! It hurts!" _

"_Natsume?! Can you stop it! Calm down, clam down!"_

"_Okka-san!! Otou-san!!"_

_**THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!!**_

"Ugh…agh…."

Tears ran down the flame-caster's face, from both the smoke and his past.

A ring of fire formed around them, creating another bad situation. 

"_Put out the fire!!"_

"_Hey…I heard that boy was the one who started the fire. He killed his own parents._

"_Oh my God!!"_

"_Stay away from me!!"_

_**IT WASN'T ME!! Someone…won't anyone believe me?!**_

* * *

"Sakura-san!! Is Sakura-san here?!"

A nurse ran frantically around the school, and ran into Hotaru.

"…What's wrong with Mikan?" 

"Sakura-san hasn't fully recovered yet! Her body was in stable condition at the time, but we just found out that some side effects from the overuse of Alices and pills she took to last three days are just _starting _to take effect!!" 

Hotaru's eyes widened.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

Mikan coughed, spitting out blood.

…_Am I…stained with blood…yet again?_

"Agh…!!"

Her eyes were blurry, but she slowly stood up, reaching Natsume, who was sitting on the floor.

"Stay…away!!" He screamed, the fire growing.

Mikan smiled weakly, and hugged him.

"It's all right…I'll believe you. You weren't the one who started the fire. I know. It was an arsonist, he was the one who burned your house down, and because you had the fire Alice, they suspected you, a seven-year old boy. That's when they sent you to the academy."

Natsume's eyes widened. 

Mikan let him go and smiled.

"Now get out of here."

She handed him and Alice stone.

"Sorry…I don't think I can use any more of my Alice to send you out…remember the time when we went to Yomi's café? Narumi gave you this. We all went back together, so you never had a chance to use the stone a second time. You dropped it before, so it's a bit cracked. You have to concentrate steadily on the Academy, or it might go out of control and send you to who knows where." 

Determination was in the brunette's eyes.

"Now go!!"

She dropped the stone into Natsume's hands, as he closed his eyes and concentrated, disappearing.

Mikan smiled as he disappeared.

But the flames were still raging, flicking, burning.

Mikan winced from the pain, as she reached into her pocket.

A red pill…Alice amplification.

_I won't bring anyone down to Hell with me…_

She cracked the pill with her teeth, and held out her hands.

Water surrounded her, and spread out, drowning out the fire. 

_Looks like this is the end…_

* * *

Natsume landed gracefully….next to a frantic nurse and shocked Hotaru.

"HYUUGA!!" Hotaru screamed, grabbing his shoulders. "Where's Mikan?!"

"She…"

And then it hit him.

His fire went a bit out of control, and she saved him. From the pain of both his past and his own fire. 

"_Sorry…I don't think I can use any more of my Alice."_

Fuck! How the hell could he not have noticed! She wouldn't be able to escape from his fire!

"...she's back…at the area from before…with…my Alice…out of control."

"Shit!" Hotaru cursed, frantic now.

"ANNA!! NONOKO?? MISAKI?!"

No response, only a soft echo. 

She bit her fingernail then grabbed Natsume's shoulders.

"You're teleporting with me whether you like it or not, Hyuuga!" 

She brought out an Alice stone, containing the teleportation Alice.

"We're going!!"

* * *

_Hah…hah…_

Breathing was becoming a bit difficult. Blood seeped through her clothes. Her body felt heavier than before, and she couldn't move.

_I wasn't fully healed…I should have known…_

She coughed, blood dripping down her neck. 

She thought of her gang.

_Hotaru…Anna, Nonoko…Misaki…_

She thought of Hellfire.

_Natsume…Yuu…Ruka-kun, Tsubasa and Koko, too…_

She though of Heaven.

_Kami-sama, please, keep them safe…_

She thought of Hell.

_I won't take anyone with me…_

She closed her eyes, a tear rolling down her cheek. The brunette felt dizzy, and she didn't feel pain anymore…

She lay there for who knows how long.

"MIKAN!! Mikan, wake up!!"

…_Hotaru…_

"Oi, oi!! Wake up! Imai, we've got to get her back to the hospital!"

…_Natsume…?_

"She's breathing!!" Okay, Ready? You carry Mikan!"

…_I think I'm hallucinating…_

* * *

_ Ugh…My head's spinning…_

"Do you think she'll be alright? The side effects are pretty bad…I've taken those pills myself…"

…_Who?_

"…I honestly don't know…"

"…Ho…ta…ru….?"

"Mikan?"

"She's awake?"

"Get the nurse!"

Mikan opened her eyes, but even as the light blinded her again, she made them stay open.

"Hotaru…"

"Mikan, are you okay? Do you feel alright?" the violet-eyed girl said, worry in her eyes. 

"Mmmm…this is the second, time…huh…."

Mikan turned her head a little.

"…I guess they still haven't come to see me…?"

Hotaru opened her mouth to say something, but then shut it. She didn't know what to say…

"Hotaru…where did I go wrong?"

"Mikan—"

Natsume, at this point, couldn't find the nurse.

_Damn, _he thought, _I've got to tell Imai…_ so he made his way back to Mikan's room. He opened the door, slightly, just enough so he could see what was happening in the room.

"Was it because I didn't do a good enough job as a leader? After Matsuri died? Because of my past, that everything around me basically died? Was it because I was selfish? Did I not care enough?"

Tears like pearls slid down the brunette's pale cheeks. She closed her eyes again, the tears still running.

"I thought I could run away from my past…but I guess that was useless…"

_Run away from the past…_Natsume thought.

"Did they think I didn't care…?" Mikan asked Hotaru. 

"You knew about everyone's past, didn't you? You waited until they would tell you…so they would feel comfortable talking about it…"

"I don't know what to…do…anymore…!!"

She was shaking now, her voice was cracking; she could barely talk coherently. 

"What am I supposed to do? I don't hate Matsuri, but the fact she pushed everything onto me was….really...shocking!!"

Natsume closed his eyes.

"I don't want to lose anything anymore…I can' stand seeing something killed in front of me anymore…if I go to Hell, I'll go alone…I don't want to burden anyone anymore…"

Slowly, she drifted off, and the winds, to sleep.

Hotaru closed her eyes.

"Rest, Mikan…you deserve it…"

Natsume closed the door and leaned against it. He slid down, sitting on the cold, hard floor.

_Oh, Kami-sama…what do I do now…?_

* * *

_ **Somewhere Unknown…**_

"You know the plan."

"Yes, of course."

"Hurry up. Get ready."

"Eh?"

"…We're going to attack soon."

* * *

**Writer's End Notes: **

**I AM SO INCREDIBLY PISSED.**

This was supposed to be uploaded yesterday. (Today's 1/13/08) 

BUT!! Thanks to my messed up computer, after I finished typing this chapter, I saved, and all these weird things started popping up. I already saved, so I figured I would be okay. But I went to check on my document, and more than half was gone. GONE. I practically ripped my hair out. Damn. 

Anyway, I rewrote it. I remember the big points I typed yesterday, so that's okay.-.- It changed a little bit. 

So anyway. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was a bit difficult to type this, because I wasn't sure how to portray Mikan. Like in **jeemawoo**'s review, I _had_ planned to make her calm and kind of ignore SAGA, but it was kind of hard to make progress with her ignoring the former SAGA members. And I did make her stronger because of her battle with Yuka (who is not dead. She's unconscious, remember). We'll see if she's feared in the next chapter. O:



So everything changed around a bit, but it still follows. Mikan did kind of ignore them. Although she does feel lonely. 

And so…yeah. This chapter was pretty long…14 pages!! Including my notes, though, but still. XP

Although, it might seem shorter when you read it. O:

Yay! Thanks for all your reviews everyone! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy. X3

-hint hint, nudge nudge-


	10. A Win With a Loss

**Writer's Notes: **Alright! Now that I've completed **Manipulated**, I can concentrate on this, **Stained Red, **and **The Key to my Heart.**

Well then, here's chapter 10!

* * *

"Are you ready?"

"Of course I am."

"Take as many students as you can. The Academy's protection unit is useless when in shambles."

"Ha! It's useless even when it _wasn't _in shambles."

"No…don't underestimate Mikan Sakura. She could probably take out everyone here."

"But she's recovering from some sort of incident, right?"

"Exactly. That's why this is the perfect chance. Hotaru Imai only has a single Alice, but she'll bit a bit hard to capture, too."

"This will be easy…Ready?"

"Let's go."

* * *

"DAMMIT!" Narumi cursed.

"This isn't going to work. I knew that Luna girl was trouble…" Jinno, the math teacher, with an Alice of lightning, growled.

"You thought Mikan Sakura was trouble, too." Serina, a teacher who saw images through her crystal ball told him.

"Mikan-chan and he gang always protected the school from the AAO!" Narumi said, worried now.

"Even if she had her gang perform the task unknowingly…" Serina mumbled.

"The AAO has attacked several times before, but this will most likely be their most successful. Sakura is in the hospital; her gang is with Koizumi, who I doubt will be able to protect the school. Hyuuga's gang is also with Koizumi…Imai and Tobita can only do so much by themselves…Sakura is the only one who can attack the AAO single-handedly, and come out without many injuries…she's trained with Persona, after all, and multiple Alices are very useful…" Jinno threw is hands up in the air.

"The students won't know what is going on…we need to plan an escape route for them," Serina said.

"Where will we evacuate all the students?!" Narumi yelled. The Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle, and High School division's students added up to a huge number.

"…The only thing we can do is teleport them somewhere else, but no teachers have the teleportation Alice. Noda-sensei is a time-tripper, students ending in unknown places and possibly without a chance of getting back is dangerous." Jinno murmured.

"That's not much we can do…this situation is quite bad right now…"

"SHIT!"

* * *

Mikan was awake.

She still lay on her hospital bed, looking out the window, while Hotaru peeled an apple. Well, she used her invention to peel the apple, anyway.

"…something's wrong." Mikan told her friend, as she bit into an apple slice.

"Of course. The AAO's attacking. Can't you hear Narumi, Jinno and Serina-sensei?"

The brunette sighed.

"Feeling useless like this freaking sucks."

"You're recovering, so shut up."

"…"

"Ne, Hotaru? You knew that on certain occasions, when we got a job, sometimes it was the AAO we were dealing with, didn't you?"

"I know who we're dealing with, Mikan. My information source is wider than yours."

"…"

"…"

Hotaru glanced at her leader, and her best friend. Mikan was chewing on an apple slice, thinking.

"…You're going to fight, no matter what, aren't you?"

"The Anti-Alice Organization _sells _children with Alices, Hotaru. They work as slaves; they get put in the military."

The inventor cringed at this.

Being sold. She knew the feeling.

"…You'll last about seven hours if you don't move around too much. But if you do too much movement, you'll last four. I can give you a painkiller, but your wounds will just hurt more afterwards."

Mikan smiled.

"Thank you, Hotaru."

* * *

Luna sat in the classroom like a queen, Hellfire and SAGA members surrounding her.

The door slid open, and in walked Narumi, his face serious for once.

"All right. I'm not exactly sure how to break this to you…"

"To make that blunt, we're going to be attacked by the AAO."

The door slid open again and Mikan, Hotaru and Yuu walked in.

The students gasped, and murmuring broke out.

"Mikan-chan!" Narumi gasped. "Are you sure you should be moving around?"

The brunette shrugged and smiled.

"I'll last about seven hours at the maximum. I'll use some painkiller when I need to." She told him. "After all, nobody else is going to help this place."

"Cut the corny talk. You don't need to last, Sakura," Luna snarled. "For all I care, you can just die."

Natsume winced a bit at Luna's harsh voice. She didn't know the situation.

He had dealt with the Anti-Alice Organization before, and it was not easy. If they needed to, they _killed _the student. Being killed was not a happy thought, and in a life-and death situation, he didn't need to be reminded of the feeling.

But Mikan laughed, which pissed Luna off even more.

"Oh? That's fine, if you're so confident that you can protect yourself, then I don't need to help you."

"Who said I needed help?" Luna smiled smugly, and glanced at former Hellfire and SAGA members. "I have _these."_

"Not everyone is a leader, Koizumi. They could take you and kill you; I wouldn't shed a single tear."

_Tmp tmp tmp tmp…_

Footsteps of large numbers could be heard and Mikan smirked.

"Sensei, if you please, evacuate all students outside."

"Are you CRAZY?!" Anna shouted.

"It'll be easier for them to capture us out there!!" Nonoko added.

The brunette glanced at them.

"You protect yourselves. Koizumi's gang has nothing to do with me. Plus, they're going to burn down the building. If you want to burn to death, that's fine with me."

"…"

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

"Move, go, hurry!"

All the students screamed, running out the door, a few who were capable jumping out the windows.

And as expected, soon, certain parts of the building were set ablaze.

"Narumi-sensei should get out, too. Fire spreads quickly. Tell me if any students are left in the school and I'll teleport them out."

The violet-eyed teacher nodded and started to evacuate students in other classes.

* * *

Soon, many students were near the Northern Forest.

"Is everyone out?" Mikan asked Narumi, who was panting.

"No…there's a little girl stuck inside."

Mikan said nothing more, but snapped her fingers, and instantly, a young girl, about the age of four with blue hair appeared next to them, coughing.

"Well…this is where the hard part starts…"

The brunette sighed as thousands of the AAO members poured into the campus.

"There's more than you expected…" Hotaru said, holding something round in her hand. "Put these glasses on. You too, Tobita."

Mikan and Yuu did as they were told, as Hotaru instructed those without glasses to step back, and she immediately tossed the ball near the approaching AAO members. The ball cracked open and smoke filled the area, blinding the AAO while Mikan and Yuu went into action. They had the special glasses Hotaru made them wear, so they could see everything perfectly.

"Nice, Hotaru," Mikan whistled, as she activated an Alice.

She slammed her hands onto the ground, creating a large crater, while a large amount of members fell in. Thick vines and overgrowth blocked the members who missed the hole, tangling them together.

But more were coming, and Mikan could tell that they could manage their Alices very well.

Mikan bit her thumb, blood oozing out steadily.

"Gomen ne, Hotaru. It appears that I'll need some painkiller later. If I don't overdo it."

The brunette bit her other thumb, both hands now having a thin line of blood running down her hands.

Hotaru sighed.

"If you die, I'll kill you."

Mikan laughed. "If I'm dead you can't kill me…baka Hotaru…"

The genius inventor walked away as the brunette clapped her hands together.

"You're the baka, Mikan…"

As Mikan pulled her hands apart, they could see a blood-red sword forming.

"Hotaru!"

"I'm on it…"

"Yuu?"

"Hai!"

"_Oniwa ni umeta kuchuu ROCKET choudo hiraita  
Mukashi todoita enban REPORT sore e hijiketa!"_

Hotaru sang, swinging around her own sword.

Mikan looked at and smiled. It was rare Hotaru wanted to start a song.

The former Frozen Sakura members recognized the song immediately.

It was time to play.

"_Ukabu  
gimon gimon gimon naze ni hajikeru  
gimon gimon gimon naze ni sou naru  
gimon gimon gimon ima wa dou omou  
gimon gimon gimon dare mo ittenai..."_

She and Hotaru waited for the AAO to move first, then spun around, jumping, running, flipping, doing all sorts of tricks to both doge and attack.

"_Oniwa ni umeta kuchuu ROCKET choudo hiraita  
mukashi todoita enban REPORT sore e hijiketa_

_tojimari shita kinkuu SOCKET ima wa konagona  
omoi tsutzutta kimi e no RECORD sora e tobashita"_

The numbers were decreasing by a lot, and at a steady speed. The students stared in shock and the younger children squealed in delight. Jinno smiled slightly and nodded his head in satisfaction.

"_Ukabu  
sakebu  
gimon gimon gimon naze ni hajikeru  
gimon gimon gimon naze ni sou naru  
gimon gimon gimon ima wa dou omou  
gimon gimon gimon dare mo ittenai."_

In one hour, all the present AAO members were down.

Mikan looked at Hotaru, slightly out of breath, and smiled cheerfully. The raven-haired girl smiled back, and they high-fived.

"That was fun," the brunette said, as her sword turned into a puddle of blood, slipping from her hands.

"I'm glad we amused you, Sakura-san," a male voice said.

The two girls turned to see a red-haired man and violet eyes, a lighter shade than Hotaru's and Narumi's.

Mikan narrowed her eyes, and spoke to Luna and the former SAGA and Hellfire members without turning to look at them.

"Luna Koizumi, this time, I'm putting all my trust into you that you'll protect the students on your side. You and whatever you named your gang."

Luna smirked.

"What, Sakura? Can't handle anymore?" she said snobbily.

"Koizumi."

Mikan's voice was firm.

The owner of the soul-entrapping Alice narrowed her eyes and smirked again.

"Whatever. I can take care of it."

A few men in black suits appeared behind the red-haired man.

"You're the one who planned this, Reo Mouri," Hotaru said, her voice colder than usual.

"Of course. Who else? The boss is expecting some nice Alices. And you all know Sakura isn't going to last longer than four hours."

The brunette bit her lip, as the puddle of blood reformed itself into a sword. She shot forwards, trying to hit the red-haired man.

But all Reo did was smirk, as one of the men-in-black stopped the sword with a metal hand.

"The AAO _does_ have a variety of Alices, Sakura."

"…_Fuck!"_

Mikan cursed as she realized that one of the men had the teleportation Alice. He was gone, and he was back at Reo's side with a young, green-haired girl in his arms. Another man held a knife under her chin.

The girl whimpered. She could feel the cold metal that could take away her life in mere seconds.

"O-Onee-chan…"

Mikan turned for a split second to glare at Luna.

"What the hell happened?!"

"I-It's not my f-fault!" Luna stuttered, her eyes wide with horror.

"I thought you said you could take care of it!!"

A few glared at the blue-eyed girl.

The brunette turned back to Reo, her eyes furious.

"Put her down, Mouri."

"What makes you think I will? Her Alice of explosions is very, very useful in many ways. But on second thought, she is only useful for one thing…easily disposable."

"Put. Her. Down."

The knife under the girl's chin dug into the skin slightly, blood seeping out slowly.

Damn it! Why couldn't she use her teleportation Alice?!

"I always have conditions, Sakura. How about an exchange? Her for you."

"Are you fucking crazy-" Hotaru began, but Mikan cut her off.

"Then let go of the girl."

"…"

Suddenly, one of men shot forward and pushed something into her mouth. She swallowed in surprise.

"P-Paralyzation?!"

"True. But it also weakens you greatly, Miss Sakura…"

The man with the teleportation Alice dropped the little girl, who ran to Narumi.

Another man picked Mikan up, throwing her over his shoulders. She couldn't even struggle.

"Mikan—" Hotaru yelled, but she was hit in the stomach by the man with the metal hand. She dropped to her knees, coughing.

Everyone stared in shock as Alice Academy continued to burn; several with the water Alice desperately try to distinguish it, and Mikan Sakura being carried away.

"Stop!!" Yuu yelled, as she ran, his hand outstretched.

But just as his hand was about to grab the man's shirt, they disappeared from sight.

Teleportation.

"DAMN IT!!" Hotaru screamed, her hands in fists, bringing them down onto the hard floor with all her might. "Mikan!!"

Her hands bled slightly from bits and pieces of sharp rubble.

Mikan Sakura in the Anti-Alice Organization's hands…

Why did everything go so incredibly wrong?

* * *

**Writer's End Notes: **Alright! That concludes chapter 10. Mikan is taken away by the AAO because of Luna's mistake in protecting the students!

Mikan' was slightly harsh to her gang members when they were in the classroom...

The song that Mikan and Hotaru sang was 'Rocket' by Polysics. It's also known as the ending of 'Moyashimon', and incredible cute anime about microbes. (Oryzae!) Well, the beginning episodes were cute anyway. I was listening to it and I was feeling kind of hyper…ahaha. :sweatdrop:

So yeah…

(As some already know I'm going to stop putting the 'please review!' here because I'm sure you guys already get the idea and are probably getting annoyed by that. XD)


	11. To Rescue the Princess

**Writer's Notes: **Yay!! I finally updated this. And I have a slight twist…well, sort of.

Anybody remember a character in the earlier chapters…?

* * *

Hotaru's fingers moved rapidly on the keys of a laptop while Yuu paced around frantically.

Luna and her gang sat bit far away from the two Frozen Butterfly members.

Regular students were just onlookers here.

"Can't we just take out the guards?!" Yuu said, exasperated.

"Think straight, Tobita! You think two people can handle it all?! Plus, I'm the only one who can attack here!"

The male member of Frozen Butterfly glanced briefly at former Hellfire and SAGA members.

"Oh, hell no!! When that girl was captured all ten of them did absolutely nothing!!"

Luna winced, and started to say something. "It wasn't my—"

"Shut up, Koizumi!! How is it not your fault? You stood there like a goddamn idiot! Do I need to reply your voice in order to remind you what you said?!"

The violet-eyes girl lifted a tape recorder, pressing 'play'.

"_Luna Koizumi, this time, I'm putting all my trust into you that you'll protect the students on your side. You and whatever you named your gang."_

"_What, Sakura? Can't handle anymore?" _

"_Koizumi."_

"_Whatever. I can take care of it."_

_**A few minutes later…**_

_(Sound of a little girl whimpering)_

"_O-Onee-chan…"_

"_What the hell happened?!"_

"_I-It's not my f-fault!" _

"_I thought you said you could take care of it!!"_

Hotaru pressed the 'stop' button on the tape recorder.

Somehow, she always had the weirdest things. When was she recording that? But, anyway…

She was definitely, incredibly pissed. The genius inventor was already swearing profusely at the laptop.

"Dammit! The AAO…Tobita, we're going to ask Otonashi Yura."

"You're kidding."

"Do I joke? Go dance with her."

Yuu timidly made his way over to the gray-haired girl, not gray from age. It was long and slightly wavy, and her brown eyes were similar to Hotaru's—without emotions. She had the Alice of vision, where she could see images by dancing with a person.

"O-Otanashi-san…?"

"Been done. Room 12, fourth floor."

Otonashi Yura smiled politely, and Hotaru nodded her head in appreciation.

The laptop was slammed shut, and Hotaru stood up.

"Tobita, we're going."

"Now?"

"Now."

"Hold on."

Natsume stood up also.

"I'm coming with you."

"Do what you wish, Hyuuga. Don't get in my way."

It was pretty obvious that Hotaru hated Natsume as well as the other members in Luna's gang very much. One by one, they all stood up, deciding they were going to save Mikan.

"What do you think you're all doing?" Luna hissed.

"It's kind of obvious now, isn't it?" Anna said harshly.

"That's right. '_Not everyone is a leader.' _And you obviously aren't one." Nonoko added.

"Have you dumbasses finally woken up?" Hotaru snapped coldly.

"Gomen, ne, Hotaru-chan…" Misaki said, putting on her puppy face, although she knew full well Hotaru didn't fall for crocodile tears.

"We're going, dumbasses."

"She's in a bitch mood…" Tsubasa muttered.

Hotaru for once, didn't use a baka-gun or any of her inventions. Instead, she punched Tsubasa Andou in the stomach with all her strength.

"Don't even get me started why I shouldn't kill each and every one of you, including Anna, Nonoko and Misaki. Just because I'm letting you come with me, doesn't mean I've forgiven any of you." Hotaru's voice and aura had 'say one more word and you're dead' emitting everywhere.

"Misaki, healing supplies. Hyuuga and idiots, whatever weapons, or none if you just want to use your Alices. Anna and Nonoko, do whatever also. Same as what Mikan tells you, if you haven't been brainwashed yet and you still remember."

Hotaru went her own way, grabbing the usual Alice prevention ropes and whips, along with several Alice Stones Mikan had given to her, while Nonoko, Anna and Koko grabbing weapons, (knives and metal poles) since their Alices weren't really used for combat. Yuu didn't bring anything, because if he was going to use his Illusion Alice, he had to concentrate.

They all met up at the sakura tree, while Hotaru discarded the regular whips and handed out some beans.

"…What's this?' Ruka said, examining the bean.

"It's some sort of Bean Whip. Misaki-senpai, the science teacher grows them. He's letting us take some because they're small and they save space. So don't lose it."

"Can we go now?" Nonoko asked, as she tucked the bean into her Kamikaze coat pocket.

Hotaru nodded, holding a teleportation stone.

"It's going to take a while just to get into the building, so we're going to spend most out time fighting. Are you ready?"

Every head nodded, holding on to Hotaru.

_We're coming, Mikan!!_

* * *

Mikan was lying on the cold, hard floor, bars in front of her and stone walls surrounding her left, right, and back. A prison.

The paralyzation/weakening drug had worn off, but the brunette's body ached and it was still slightly hard to move.

Everything was black, nothing could be seen.

The brunette tried to move, to sit up, since she was lying down, but she couldn't maneuver easily at all.

Her arms and wrists had been tied to her back, a gag over her mouth and a loosely tied blindfold over her eyes.

No wonder it was dark.

Mikan bit her lip.

These weren't regular ropes, they were Alice prevention ropes.

Figures.

The brunette couldn't even see her surroundings, so what was she supposed to do?

She leaned back, feeling something sharp and pointy. A nail? Or something?

Whatever it was, the brunette tried using it to undo the loose knot in her blindfold. It easily came off. Apparently it didn't matter if she got rid of the blindfold or not.

AAO headquarters. Interesting. She could see seven male guards standing outside her cage/prison.

Mikan turned to examine her prison, finding a note stuck into the stone wall by the nail she'd used to undo the blindfold.

**_Don't even try to escape, Sakura. _**

**_Everything you do is futile._**

Mostly likely Reo who wrote it.

'Don't even try to escape?'

Oh, hell no, since when was Mikan Sakura one to follow order of the _enemy_? But first, she would have to get out of the ropes. Something sharp, something sharp…

She scanned her prison, finding nothing than a sink and bed. Oh wait; there was a mirror, too.

The brunette smirked. A mirror. Perfect.

Her legs had also been tied, so she had trouble standing, but managed to do it nonetheless.

_This is going to hurt…_Mikan thought.

She took a deep breath, before…

…smashing her head against the mirror.

It cracked, a few shards of glass falling to the ground.

The guards looked at her, figured she was upset at finally being caught and going slightly crazy, and looked away.

Mikan could see the blood, running down her face as it dripped onto her lap. Her head hurt a lot now, but she did her best to ignore it, using her free fingers to pick up one glass shard, gripping it in her hand. With the sharp, jagged edges, she used it like a saw to cut the ropes.

This was going to take a while.

* * *

Newspapers were selling like crazy.

"**Mikan Sakura, Captured by the Anti-Alice Organization."**

Mikan Sakura and Frozen Sakura were very famous and very trusted by everyone. Crimes seemed to rise pretty quickly, the robbers and murderers going all out because they knew there was no one to capture them now, no one to torture them with words or music. If they were careful enough, they wouldn't be caught by the police.

Everything was still going wrong, wrong, wrong.

* * *

Mikan massaged her wrists, the rope had been tied much too tightly, digging into her skin. She had finally cut herself free.

The guards hadn't bothered to re-tie her. It seemed as if they were confident that she couldn't do anything.

Mikan's head had finally stopped bleeding, too, but it still hurt.

the brunette ripped the gag from her mouth and smiled.

She was free now.

It was time to bust out.

The brunette snapped her fingers, waiting for the lightning Alice to do its job.

"…"

Nothing happened.

Everything was the same.

Mikan snapped her fingers again. And again, and again.

Still, there was nothing.

So this was why they were so confident. It was because the guards had the barrier Alice, to prevent the use of other Alices.

The lock on the cage was something unusual, and complicated, most likely made of someone else's Alice. She had seen something like this before, and the only way to break it was to use an Alice the opposite 

element of the one it was made of. The bars were mostly likely made of someone's Alice; too, the only way to break out was the same as the lock. If it was normal steel, Mikan could have easily broken it.

"_Dammit!!" _Mikan whispered to herself, her hands balled into fists. Her nails dug into her skin, her palms now bleeding.

In the AAO's headquarters, stripped of her use of Alices, unable to break out, Mikan Sakura was completely and utterly useless.

* * *

"Andou, you use your Shadow Alice. Hyuuga should be able to take on a large group, Misaki can clone herself. Koko can be support with Anna and Nonoko. Nogi can call animals or whatever. Tobita can distort the scenery with his illusions. I'll take on another group too."

"Wow, Hotaru talks more lately," Nonoko murmured.

"She thinks she can give us orders? She isn't our leader—"

_Baka! Baka!_

One shot for Nonoko on the head from the infamous Baka Gun, and another one for Tsubasa.

"You came with me because you wanted to save Mikan," Hotaru said coldly. "It was originally me and Tobita. So _shut up_ or _leave_. I'll do this alone if I have to."

Tsubasa glanced at the large number of AAO members guarding the front of the building, sighed, and finally decided to shut up and help.

"This is going to take an hour if we hurry and don't run into too much trouble."

Anna smiled.

"Then what are we waiting for?! Ready, GO!!"

* * *

They were switching guards now, the seven previous guards leaving their post, seven more men, well, three of them women now, taking their place, the Alice barrier never faltering, never giving Mikan a chance to use an Alice.

They all wore the same outfits, black suits and dark sunglasses to hide their eyes.

"…"

Nothing was said, and there was nothing Mikan could do but wait.

There wasn't even a clock, so she didn't know the time.

However long she waited there at the AAO's headquarters in a cage/prison; it seemed like years before one of the female guards with short hair spoke.

"Yosh! Let's do it now."

"Finally! Standing around without moving for two hours is really annoying."

"My legs hurt…"

The seven guards mumbles something in complaint, stretching.

"…"

Mikan did nothing but watch in confusion. Their way of talking was so…casual. Not something she would expect out of the AAO's guards.

"Umm…let's see…ooh, lucky! It's made of the fire Alice! Kind of surprising no one had the water Alice in the AAO!!" The short-haired female laughed, stepping back from the cage.

"Hey, can't you use your sound Alice? They're going to come and find out if they hear this."

One of the men-in-black nodded, clapping his hands together.

It seemed more silent than before.

Mikan could see the girl's lips moving, but she couldn't hear a single sound.

The short-haired woman lifted her hand into the air, the ground shaking very lightly, they water shooting out from the ground. She directed it towards the cage, which sizzles, melting away, disappearing.

"…Why are you helping me?" The brunette asked, narrowing her eyes.

She wasn't sure if the sound Alice was still in effect, but once the girl answered, she knew it wasn't.

"Aww, Mikan-chan, you can't figure it out?"

"I'm so sad!" One of the men said in mock sadness, weeping into his hands like a girl.

"Well, you can't blame her. She hasn't seen us since…a long time!" Another man said, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

Mikan looked at them weirdly. Since when did she know people from the AAO??

And...they were kind of weird.

"Ready? Ready? Quiz time!" One man said excitedly.

"Old…"

"White…"

Mikan closed her eyes, thinking.

"Um and old person?"

"…"

Another man made on odd face.

"No."

"Cakes and cookies! There's a really big hint." One of the women offered.

"…"

Mikan said nothing. What was old and white and…had something to do with cakes and cookies?

"Um…a…old person who likes to eat cookies!!" the brunette guessed.

"I told you it had nothing to do with old people!!

"...A...café!" Mikan tried again hopefully.

"You're getting there."

The water-Alice sighed.

"Dammit, this is taking too long. Ready? You've got to remember this. Cafés and cosplay."

Mikan's eyes bulged.

"Oh my god, no way."

The short-haired girl grinned, playing with her water Alice.

"Mmmhm, keep going, keep going."

"…_**Y**_..._**YOMI-SAN?!"**_

* * *

**Writer's End Notes: **Yay! Everyone remember Yomi-san? From chapter seven? Yeah…it's kind of a twist. XP

You never would have thought, right? Except one person. Because she's in my school and classes and I told her. She couldn't guess it. Muwahaha. Yus, Qezilu, Imma talkin' ta yuu.

Anyway, sorry for ending it here, I kind of got writer's block. Again. You're all probably like "Oh hell no, not again."

I've got to update **Stained Red **soon, too. You'll all forget about it if I don't. And **The Key to my Heart**, **My Lady Wolf**...

Ah, the consequences of multi-tasking!!

So yus. Sorry for the long wait on **Love is Just Plain Hell! **


	12. Escaping

**Blargh. Am I drifting from FanFiction? D:**

**I've been updating really late, and that's become…continuous. D: **

**Does everyone remember the maids who work with Yomi-san? I never really described them, so here's a list:**

_**Yuuki**_ - Silver hair down to about half her back, grey-blue eyes.

_**Misa**_ - Blond hair a little blow shoulders, brown eyes. _(Like Misa from Death Note!)_

_**Kuri **_- Chestnut colored, waist-length hair, yellow eyes. _(Twins with Kana)_

_**Kana**_ - Chestnut colored, waist-length hair, yellow eyes. _(Twins with Kuri)_

_**Ami **_- Short, light brown hair and hazel eyes.

_**Miki**_-Medium length, cerulean blue hair and navy colored eyes. (Based on Miki from Shugo Chara!)

_**Suki **_**- **Light pink, waist-length hair, red eyes. _(A lighter shade than Natsume's)_

**Now let's move on to the 12****th**** chapter! Their Alices are revealed in this chapter, too.**

* * *

"Y-Y-Y-Y-Yomi-san?!" Mikan stuttered, her eyes wide. "But…You…since….since when did you have an Alice?!"

Yomi smiled mysteriously, as she pulled Mikan into a standing position.

"There's several things you don't know about me, Mikan."

"C-Care to tell me?" Mikan said, her eyes still wide.

"Sure, but first, we've got to run. This place is pretty damn big, and it'll take a while to escape. Kuri can't keep up her sound Alice for long. And someone's bound to find the hole I made with my water Alice…"

The seven maids and Yomi-san ripped off their disguises, and as the familiar faces of the seven maids smiled, Mikan relaxed.

"Ready, Mikan-chan?" Yuuki asked, pointing to a vent in the ceiling. "I have the jumping Alice. We're going to escape from up there."

"I can—" The brunette started, but she was cut off.

"Your Alices are going to be inactive for another three hours. They made you swallow a special drug while you slept."

"Why didn't you stop them?" Mikan demanded.

"…Because we would give out identities away…" Ami stated obviously.

"…" Mikan turned away childishly, blushing.

"Alright," Yuuki said, turning to Miki. "Use your drawing Alice, will you?"

The blue-haired girl nodded, a pen in hand, scribbling a sketch of a hand with a abnormally long arm in the air.

The hand started to move after a while, reaching the vent and removing the bars. They fell, Kuri using her sound Alice so there was no noise.

Yuuki helped each of the girls out, as they crowded in the ceiling.

"Kana?" Yomi said, as the twin of Kuri nodded.

She sucked in some air, and exhaled, which was released as a huge gust of wind.

"…What was that for?" Mikan asked. It was dark, so she couldn't see anything.

"You wanna crawl in loads of dust, dead bugs and other unknown crap?" Kana said.

"Come on, we've seriously gotta move. I can see them coming." Suki whispered. "In three minutes and twenty-seven seconds, they're going to be here."

"Sight Alice?" Mikan asked.

"Yeah. I can see the future. To a certain extent, though. And it's not very stable, because the future isn't set solidly."

"Get moving!!" Yomi called quietly, and the nine girls began to crawl.

* * *

"You guys _suck_," Misaki told the Hellfire members.

"I thought you were supposed to be better in combat?" Anna added, poking a tired Koko.

"That's right…remember that first day Mikan-chan transferred? Hyuuga was about to attack. Mikan blocked it for me, but we all, besides Hotaru, know the pain." Nonoko recalled.

"Shut…up…" Tsubasa muttered, wiping his sweat.

"We'll take a short break," Hotaru instructed, not tired at all, like the rest of the SAGA members.

Hellfire on the other hand, were sprawled on the ground, resting and sweating. Besides Natsume.

"We don't go out on missions like this very often," Ruka panted. "Natsume was the only one who did these sorts of hardships before Sakura-san came along…"

The fire-caster glared at his best friend, although it went unnoticed.

"So Persona used you as his little kuro neko, huh?" Hotaru stated.

The Black Cat narrowed his eyes.

"She took your place, Hyuuga. We all did. On certain missions we went on, we were spying on the AAO, retrieving items, catching their spies."

"We did?" Anna gasped.

The inventor glanced at the pink-haired girl briefly.

"Say that she was lying to you and I'll kill you."

"…" Anna was mart enough and said nothing.

"And have you figured out what Mikan has done for you?" Hotaru said, her voice slightly sharp.

No one answered, and Hotaru twitched in irritation.

"Frozen Sakura…care to recall your past?" Hotaru told the females. "Misaki, you go first."

The darker pink-haired girl smiled at the memory.

"You should all know by now I was being sexually harassed by my mom's boyfriend after my real father and my mom divorced. Koizumi had that a tiny bit wrong. He wasn't my real father. My mom wouldn't believe me, and her boyfriend made up a lot of stories…" Misaki started. She laughed lightly now.

"And then, about a month afterwards, Mikan , Matsuri and a few other girls busted into my house. It was kind of scary, since they knew where everything was. They marched right into my mother's boyfriend's room, beat him up, grabbed me and ran out. Mikan lent me her Kamikaze coat to cover myself up. I was so happy to be out of that damn house…"

Misaki sighed, smiling.

"Anna?" Hotaru said.

Anna was also smiling as she remembered.

"My parents never called me by my name. It was always, 'hey', 'you', 'brat', 'bitch'…my life was kind of like a Cinderella. Except I didn't have any stepsisters. My parents always made me cook the meals and clean, but when my Alice activated randomly while I was cooking, they got pretty pissed off. So one day, when my Alice went out of control, just out of random, I got lectured pretty bad. Some say emotional pain hurts more. But at that point, cookies and cakes and foods flying around the house everywhere, Mikan, Matsuri and others come crashing in with a huge scene, calling, 'ANNA-CHAN!!'. At first, I was confused since I hadn't heard my name in so long, I'd almost forgotten it. Mikan hoisted me onto her back, turned to my parents and said, 'We're kidnapping her! Hope you don't mind, 'kay?' and someone used their Alice to teleport us out."

"Mikan-chan didn't have an Alice then, did she? Or she just didn't know?" Koko confirmed.

"Her Alice…well, you know she has two, the steal/copy and the nullification. You can't really see it in action, so no one could tell then. And it was pretty dormant, so it didn't activate much." Misaki explained.

The inventor glanced at Nonoko, who stared at the sky, smiling.

"Unlike everyone else, my parents were very nice." Nonoko said, her eyes closed. "But, my father died in a car accident, and my mother was very weak, and she was very ill. I discovered a bit about my chemistry Alice, or whatever you would call it, so I was always in the chemistry lad after school to try and figure out a cure. But remember, my Alice wasn't very stable, so I always had failures. My failures caused strong explosions, and eventually I was outcasted by my trusted friends and hated by the teachers and treated like shit. My story is pretty plain, but Mikan and the others were sitting on the teacher's desk one day as I was getting beaten up by some girls. They dragged me by my hair into the classroom, and there she was, wearing fake glasses and a white lab coat. The period was Chemistry Class, a class I was no longer allowed to take after the failures I made."

Nonoko paused, and everyone waited for her to continue.

"So she chucked some chalk at them, which hit pretty hard and knocked them out. Then she grabbed my hand and walked out, the teachers confused and the students, too. Then she handed me a bottle with some green-blue colored liquid, and told me to give it to my mother. Unfortunately, we were too late, she died thirteen seconds after we arrived at my house…but she comforted me and I joined Frozen Butterfly then…"

The blue-haired girl smiled warmly.

"What about you, Imai?" Ruka asked.

Hotaru smirked.

"When Mikan came to get me, she made a really big scene," She said.

"I was sold for 50 million yen. That day my father told me then, I was furious. Obviously."

"_Father!! You did WHAT?!"_

"_We're selling you, Hotaru. 50 Million Yen. Only half of what we need to pay off our loan….tch."_

"_YOU…!!"_

_The older man smirked._

"_Hate me Hotaru? You can't do anything…"_

"_YOU…YOU…YOU FUCKING __**BASTARD!!"**_

"The next day, I went back to my father's room, planning to destroy his room or something. He was always in the same room, and he treasured everything there. My mother couldn't do anything to stop him from selling me, either."

The genius inventor now laughed lightly. Ruka blushed slightly at the rare expression.

"…So I opened the door to find it already messed up. His book collection was ripped into shreds, his desk chipped and dented, and partly broken, flower pots cracked and shattered, dirt everywhere…My father was yelling at someone sitting on his huge desk. It was Mikan, holding a wad of bills."

"_Like you room? Such a nice room, the chairs were really comfy. And the books seemed pretty expensive, too…such a pity." _

"_WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!"_

"_Oh? You can easily replace those, old man. Just flip out 50 million yen and your room will be totally okay."_

"'50 Million Yen,' I thought at the time. Same price as I was being sold for."

"_Well, none of you want her anyway, so why can't I take her? I suppose I'll be a phantom thief, stealing a purple shining jewel…"_

"At that point, we both teleported somehow, and Frozen Butterfly gained a new member."

The members of Hellfire thought deeply.

"And? You get it now? Mikan saved you. All of us. It wasn't Matsuri, it was Mikan."

"But, Matsuri just told her to do it, right?" Anna argued.

Hotaru raised an eyebrow and threw her the tape recorder. Anna pressed the play button.

"_You want to add new members?! WHY?!" _

"That's….that's Matsuri's voice!!" Misaki gasped.

"_Why can't I? Those girls…we see them every day, Matsuri. You know their situation. They're birds trapped in a cage."_

"…Mikan…" Nonoko mumbled.

"_I refuse, Mikan. We have enough to deal with."_

"_I'm going, Matsuri."_

"_Go, and you'll be kicked out."_

"_You'll let the girls stay?"_

"_Sure. You actually have a home to return to."_

"…_Fine. I'll leave, but you have to let the girls stay."_

"…"

"Mikan went against the gang leader for all of us," Hotaru said, her arms crossed. "She left the gang for three years and two months. Matsuri never thought that Mikan would actually leave. We turned out to be useful, that's the only reason why Matsuri let Mikan back in Frozen Butterfly."

"…So…we were the cause…" Anna trailed off.

Violet eyes glared into teal ones.

"That's right. He mother beat her even more during that time. She didn't say a single word, and she avoided our courses so we didn't meet."

"…"

"You can't even notice. Because we've all been with her for so long. And there each and every one of you stood with Koizumi, standing there; clueless, forgetting everything that Mikan had ever done for you, asking me what she'd ever done for us."

No one spoke, recalling the bitter memory of that time with Luna Koizumi.

* * *

"Oh, shit," Yomi cussed, looking down below.

"This is annoying," Miki grumbled. "It's all cramped here."

"Seriously. This happens every single time. I can't fight them off anymore. I can't even use my Alice," Mikan said, irritated.

"Yeah, well, fighting's our only choice," Yomi said.

"Ugh…like the old times, just attack?"

_Old times…? _Mikan thought, and Yomi looked at her.

_Once everything is over…I'll explain everything, _she seemed to say.

"…"

"Alright, then you guys know what to do."

Miki used her pen to draw grenades in the air, and then she blew on them, her drawings coming to life, falling onto the floor below.

Kuri activated her sound Alice, so the guards took no notice, until the grenades blew up. Kana sucked in air again, exhaling with force, the guards falling backwards.

Yomi flooded the space with water.

Misa and Ami, who hadn't said a word the whole time, activated a plant Alice and a different type of Sound Alice. Ami screamed, deafening most of the guards' ears.

"Alright!" Yomi whispered, the water now evaporating. "We've got to go!!"

The nine girls jumped down from the ceiling and ran, dodging the guards' bodies and making several turns.

"…Yomi-san…" The brunette began as they ran. "Who…exactly are you…?"

Yomi only smirked, and didn't respond, although she did respond inside her head.

_Hee hee…now wouldn't you like to know…Mikan?_

* * *

**Writer's Notes: **I still haven't decided the outcome of what's going to happen next. This chapter is kind of a filler, I guess, but you do learn how Mikan saved everyone.

The ending line depends on however you want to interpret it, I guess.

What do you think it means?? :D

So the seven maids' and Yomi's Alices are:

**Yomi-san- **Water Alice

_**Yuuki**_ - Jumping Alice

_**Misa**_ - Plant Alice

_**Kuri **_- Sound Alice (Take Away)

_**Kana**_ - Wind Alice

_**Ami **_- Sound Alice (scream)

_**Miki**_- Drawing Alice (based on Miki from Shugo Chara)

_**Suki **_**- **Sight Alice (Future)

Kuri can take away sounds, while if Ami screams or something, it can hurt people's ears. Badly. Like that girl from S.A.

I think her name's Megumi?

So...yeah.

Yomi will play a bigger role later on, because she and the seven maids aren't just cosplay café owners and workers…


	13. Lies

**Writer's Notes: **So I was playing around with Yomi a lot…It was really hard to come to a final decision.

Finally, here's the thirteenth chapter of Love is Just Plain Hell!

* * *

Yomi and the others moved stealthily through the AAO's headquarters.

They all jumped out of the windows, landing perfectly unscathed.

"Well, that wasn't too bad," Mikan commented, brushing off her skirt.

Yomi smiled.

"Well, there's more guards coming, so you'd better hurry."

"…What about you, Yomi-san?" Mikan questioned.

"We'll be fine," Kuri assured her. "We're not the ones they want. And we have disguises."

"That's why you should go," Yuuki said.

"…"

The brunette took one last look at the eight girls before starting to run.

Yomi just watched her go, a smile on her face.

* * *

_**Mikan's POV**_

_Huff…huff…_

Yomi-san had told me she would be alright.

I mean, she should be, with everyone there.

And they all have Alices…ranging from supportive to attacking, so all the more reason she should be fine.

So why did I feel so…unsure?

Who was Yomi-san, anyway? The seven maids seemed to know what they were doing. 'Old times'…what did that mean? Were they a gang when they were younger?

It was probably just me…

I ran, my wounds re-opening and blood starting to seep through my clothes, shaking off that feeling that Yomi-san and the seven maids weren't just a café owner and seven employees.

* * *

_**Back with Hellfire and SAGA…**_

"Hurry the hell up! We've rested, so there's no reason you should be any slower than you already were!!" Hotaru snapped, clearly unsatisfied by the little progress both gangs had made.

Tsubasa was wheezing now, sweating like mad.

"Stupid…can't even keep up with us and acted all high-and-mighty…" Nonoko muttered.

"By the way…" Yuu said timidly, the only one (besides Natsume) that was keeping up the SAGA. Only because Mikan had trained him a little before he temporarily joined SAGA. "Before Mikan-san came, Hellfire always won all fights…but now, we can all clearly see that you're better in combat…what?"

Koko and Tsubasa were glaring at the timid boy. Was he saying they were weak?

…even though it was true SAGA was better at combat…

"Mmmm…" Anna thought, tapping her chin.

"I suppose it's a bit hard when you've had a leader lead you for basically all your life and have that leader disappear. Matsuri trained us well after she banished Mikan for a while, but once Mikan came back, she polished the stones even more. Like how when you dig up a gem, it's all stone-encrusted and you have to polish it and all sorts of stuff to make it look pretty." The pink-haired girl finally said.

"And everything collects dust if you leave it there for a while," Misaki commented.

"…" Koko and Tsubasa didn't say anything.

"…Why…was…Matsuri….murdered…?" Ruka asked bravely.

All four SAGA members stared at him eyes wide. For a minute, Ruka though he just might lose his life.

"…Actually, we don't know." Nonoko confessed.

"One day she was there, smiling at Yomi-san's café, and the next day she was in an alleyway we used to hang out at dead, her blood splattered on the walls and running down the concrete." Anna said a bit too casually. "She seemed to have been stabbed or whatever pretty soon, since she did say a few words before she finally went up to heaven."

Koko cringed slightly at this, glancing at Natsume.

The fire caster whacked him on the head.

_Stop trying to jinx me. _Koko mind-read. Since when did the leader believe in jinxes?

"You caught the murderer, though, right?" Tsubasa said.

"…"

All the members of both gangs stopped advancing now, once again.

"…Right?" Tsubasa said, nervous from the lack of noise and the sudden uncalled for stop.

"…Are you saying the newspaper lied?" Natsume spoke, his eyebrow raised.

Hotaru stared at him. _Since when does the great Natsume Hyuuga read newspapers? _She seemed to say.

"…Don't you remember when I read her file, since it wasn't locked when I hacked into the Headmaster's files?" The fire caster stated.

"…"

But everything was quiet again.

"…You know how we can torture the information out of someone, right?" Misaki said; her voice flat and emotionless.

"…"

Tsubasa nodded.

"…"

Hotaru glared at Misaki, and opened her mouth.

"He was taken to jail—"

"Matsuri's murderer was never caught,"

Both gangs whirled around to see the familiar brown-haired leader.

And yet again, another silence, while everyone's face morphed into a shocked expression.

"MIKAN!!" Anna squealed, hugging the leader.

"We're so so so so so sorry!!" Nonoko started sobbing.

Mikan merely smiled and patted Nonoko on the head.

"…Hehe, I'll find someway to torture you later. Be prepared."

Misaki, Anna and Nonoko shivered with unmistakable fear and horror.

Natsume stared at the open wound, the blood still visible through her clothes.

"You're a multi-Alice user, right? Can't you use a healing Alice?" Koko asked, staring at the wound.

"Yeah. Problem is I can't heal myself. It sucks. Most people with the healing Alice can't heal themselves either. If I found someone who could heal themselves, I would gladly copy it."

"…So? What do you mean that Taniyama's murderer was never caught?" Natsume finally said. He wanted to know what he wanted to know.

"…"

Everything turned unusually quiet again.

"…The man we caught," The brunette began, "His name was Jin Sanjou. Hewas a criminal, but he wasn't the cause of Matsuri's death. We failed in catching Matsuri's murderer."

"…"

The four other members turned away, filled with guilt.

"The newspapers aren't always true," Mikan told Hellfire. "Especially when it comes to us, they like to make everything a big deal. Plus they want the place to feel safe. You know several non-Alices are actually pretty afraid of us?"

"…"

"WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?!"

"DON'T LET HER ESCAPE!!"

The brunette turned back in shock.

"Crap. I hope Yomi-san's alright."

Hotaru raised an eyebrow.

"Yomi-san? Here?"

"I'll explain later. For now…we've…got…to…"

She collapsed before she could finish her sentence.

* * *

_**Alice Academy**_

Frozen Sakura's leader lay in bed, Hellfire and the rest of SAGA crowded in her room.

"…She's not going to last if this continues much longer…" Hotaru murmured.

"What's wrong with her? She was never this…injured. He mother beat her, sure, but…"

"Something's not right…" The genius inventor said to herself. "It's not normal…"

"HOTARU!" Misaki shouted, snapping the usually emotionless girl out of her own world.

"…"

Ruka stood in front of her, slightly worried.

"…Imai-san? Are you alright?"

Violet eyes burned into his sapphire ones.

She was scared. She knew something wasn't right, and whatever it was, Hotaru Imai was scared.

Ruka was shocked. No one else seemed to notice.

"…Imai-san?"

"…Why shouldn't I be fine? Worry about yourself before you worry about me, animal-boy," Hotaru snapped.

But from then on, she couldn't mask her emotions from him any longer, no matter how well she could hide them from others.

"I'm leaving. Take care of Mikan."

She left the room, and the blue-eyed boy watched her go, before excusing himself also.

Natsume watched, smirking lightly.

* * *

"Imai-san! Imai-san!!" Ruka called after the girl.

Hotaru turned around, angry.

"What do you want, Nogi? Can't you see that I have no time to talk to you?"

Ruka stopped to catch his breath. Who knew she could walk so fast?

"What…happened…back in Sakura-san's…room? Why were you…so…scared?" he panted.

"…"

The violet-eyed girl stared at him, slightly shocked.

All her life, no one noticed, except Mikan. She hid from the world; she hid her true feelings from the world.

Why did someone like him have to notice now?

"…Imai-san?"

She couldn't hide from him any longer. And they both knew that.

"…Mikan' getting weaker. It's not normal for her body to suddenly get weaker. She can't handle using several Alices now. Mikan's physically very strong, and you know how well she could handle most of her Alices before. It's not normal, It's not normal, Mikan's—"

And somehow, Ruka pulled her into a hug.

Instincts perhaps, to comfort her?

"Shhhhh…it's fine. It's fine. You'll figure something out. You're the queen of research, remember? She'll be fine, she's strong. It's fine. Everything'll be fine."

He felt like he was comforting a young child.

But Hotaru was scared, and he would comfort her.

Just because.

…Because…

Because why…?

* * *

**Midnight. Mikan's Room.**

Sakura Mikan had not woken once during the whole time Natsume Hyuuga sat in her room.

Everyone left now, trusting Hellfire's leader to keep her safe.

Out of the conscious members, he was probably the strongest. Except Hotaru, maybe, but she had other things to do.

"_Don't do anything weird," Misaki told him. "Mikan'll beat you up. So will we."_

"…"

The fire-cater stared at the brunette, sleeping peacefully. A few minutes passed before she stirred.

"Stop…Don't…hurt me…stop…go away…!!" She mumbled, her voice filled with pain.

_A dream about her mother, most likely…_Natsume thought. He stroked her hair, but she didn't calm down much.

"Matsuri…stop…you can't…you'll…Matsuri!!"

_Jeez, some nightmare she's having…_Natsume thought again. How was he supposed to calm her down? He shook her, but she didn't wake up.

"Stop…leaving everything…up to…me…I'm only…human…"

Natsume sighed. He couldn't leave, partly because he was worried, but most of all, SAGA would beat him up for doing a crappy job of watching over their leader.

But she would keep blubbering all night without shutting up.

"M—"

The fire-caster, now pissed off, (because he need to sleep, too) slammed his lips against hers.

When would she shut up?!

"Mmmmphhh…"

"…"

Her lips were soft, and he kept his own there longer than he needed to.

Because…

Because why...?

* * *

**Writer's End Notes: **God, it's hot here. 97 degrees F. today…ugh…

I can't stand the heat...I'm burrrrnnninggggggg. DX

I wanna go swimming…or turn on the AC…except it's not installed yet…

Damn…I hate the summer…and I have a million mosquito bites…

Damn bugs...Damn summer...

...Even though my Birthday is in the summer...but some people say it's actually in the spring...but whatever...

I dislike both seasons because spring has pollen (allergies) and summer has this killer heat...

Anyway.

The ending was kinda awkward…I'm pretty angry due to the heat…-.-;; (although true, lame excuse, I know)

I figured I need a bit more romance in here somewhere...I mean, it IS a MxN and HxR after all...

What's a romance fanfic without romance? Oo

So, the person who Mikan's gang caught was NOT Matsuri's murderer! O:

But then…

Who killed Matsuri Cho Taniyama?


	14. Destination

**Woohoo! It's chapter fourteen! I really enjoy writing Love is Just Plain Hell now. :D**

**Not that I didn't enjoy writing it before, I just…enjoy it more now. **

**So, here's chapter 14! There are like a million scene shifts and short sections, so sorry for that.**

* * *

"Hey."

A female voice.

He turned around to face Misaki, Anna and Nonoko.

"…"

He raised his eyebrow.

"…What. The hell. Is this?" Misaki growled.

She shoved a picture in his face.

Of her. And him.

…Sorta kinda just a little…kissing.

"It's not what you think—" He began. But of course, he was cut off.

"We know what we see, Hyuuga. And what we said. Don't try anything funny. Why didn't you burning into that thick head of yours?!"

The birds flew from trees, and from the Academy, smoke could be seen and screams of "DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE!!" could be heard…

* * *

Hotaru stood by the brunette's bed. She held her hand, trembling slightly.

Her body temperature was getting lower and lower…

"…Mikan…"

"Imai-san?"

Ruka closed the door behind him, walking over to the inventor's side.

"How is she doing?"

"Her…body temperature…"

"Can we call a doctor? The healing Alice—"

"No. The Healing Alice won't work. This…isn't normal. It's…like a fever. The healing Alice can only heal flesh wounds, but they can't cure colds and fevers. The person has to fight those battles alone."

"Why don't you call Natsume in? Maybe he can make her warmer, with his fire Alice and all…"

Hotaru turned towards the door.

"It's worth a try. Do that, will you? I'm going to skip class today. Research."

Ruka smiled.

"Sure."

* * *

"No." Misaki defiantly said, crossing her arms. "This little bastard can't be trusted."

Natsume sat in the branches of a tree, still uninjured.

"But—" Ruka argued.

"I don't care for reasons, Nogi—"

"So you don't care if Mikan dies?"

"Hotaru!!" The three girls shouted in unison, turning.

She was dressed in her Kamikaze coat.

"We're leaving on a mission."

"Wait, what? What's happening?!"

"Sakura-san's body temperature is lowering. Imai says that this isn't normal." Ruka explained.

Anna's eyes bulged. "It isn't!!"

"Mikan's body has handled over two thousand Alices for so long, her body should be perfectly adjusted now!!" Nonoko said.

"…" Hotaru said nothing for a while. "We're leaving, so hurry. Hyuuga, try to warm Mikan with your Alices. Nogi go with him."

"Where are we going?" Misaki asked.

"…Yomi's Café."

* * *

'**Closed for Personal Holiday'**

"…"



"Well, look's like Yomi-san's not here," Anna noted.

"…Since when does Yomi-san go on holiday, though?" Nonoko wondered. "She loves staying here cosplaying and making sweets more than anything in the world."

"Speaking of Yomi-san," Misaki said, "Why was Yomi-san at the AAO's headquarters? We know nothing about her at all, if you think about it…"

Hotaru stood silent, thinking.

_Maybe…_

_No…that's not possible. It's Yomi-san after all…_

* * *

The room was now 125 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ruka was not in the room but outside, where it was much, much cooler. He couldn't stand the heat, after all.

Mikan's room was a bit special, so the room could stand any heat below 800 degrees without anything burning. Not many fire-casters could go any higher than that, so her room was pretty much completely fire-proof.

Natsume held the brunette's hand.

Cold like winter's ice.

"…"

Slightly aggravated she wasn't getting any warmer, he raised the temperature to 200 degrees.

He felt her hand again…

…_Almost two degrees warmer…_

"…Oh my, it's quite hot here," A female voice said.

The fire-caster turned to see a woman, her black hair cut short and seven other girls cosplaying as maids behind her.

"…You're that cosplay freak," Natsume said flatly, recalling the cross-dressing memory. "Why the hell are you here?"

Yomi held up a box.

"Cake. For Mikan. Also an excuse to talk to her, but it looks like she's…not doing too well."

"…The school isn't for non-Alices," The crimson-eyed boy told her.

"I know. I have an Alice, you know. The water Alice."

"…What about them?"

"They're Alices too. It's too much trouble to tell you what they are. They're all different and it takes time to explain."

"…"

"Well, then, I guess since Mikan is not available, I'll give you the cake. Enjoy, 'kay?"

And with that, she left the 200-degree room.

Natsume stared at her retreating figure.

She had the water Alice, so the fact she could stand the heat for a little was not surprising.

But, what about the seven maids?

…

The fire-caster opened the box containing a slice of strawberry shortcake.

Expertly made, fresh whipped cream, strawberries, and moist sponge cake.

"…"

The cake, somehow unaffected by the heat, tasted delicious.

Obviously. Yomi was an expert in baking. The first time he was dragged to the café, the cake had been delicious, too.

He put the cake down, staring at Mikan, holding her hand.

She was getting _warmer._

* * *

"WHAT?!" Anna shouted, her eyes bulging. "Yomi-san was here?!"

"Better yet, Yomi-san and the seven maids have ALICES?!" Nonoko also shouted.

Both Hellfire and SAGA were having lunch outside.

Mikan's body temperature was rising without Natsume's Alice, so it was fine for him to leave her side.

Hotaru sipped her tea, typing on her laptop.

Misaki bit into a madeleine, trying to see what Hotaru was searching.

The inventor glared at the other short-haired member, and Misaki smiled sheepishly before digging into a slice of strawberry shortcake.

_Strawberry shortcake…_Natsume remembered before opening his mouth. "…Can cake withstand 200 degrees Fahrenheit?"

The four girls and four guys stared at the crimson-eyed fire caster like he was insane.

"…I would think not," Anna said. "It would probably cook. The strawberries would be…hot, I guess. The cream might melt and the sponge cake would be hot, too…Ew. That's a disgusting thought, cooked cake…"

"What's with the question??" Tsubasa asked his leader, a rice cracker in his mouth.

"When the cosplay freak and her maids came today, they brought a slice of cake."

"Whoa, they could stand the heat in the room?" Koko said, almost spitting out his iced tea.

"Yomi-san has the water Alice, so she can stand it for a certain amount of time," Hotaru informed everyone.

"How come you're always the one who knows everything and you never tell us?" Nonoko whined.

"You never asked. I see no reason to waste the effort telling you when you don't ask." The violet-eyed girl told her fellow gang members.

Nonoko pouted, turning the other way.

"Then, what about Ami-san and the others?" Yuu asked.

"Ami, Kuri, Kana, Suki, Miki, Misa and Yuuki don't have the water Alice." The inventor explained their Alices as she typed rapidly on her laptop.

"I don't know why they were able to stand the heat. The cake, either. The maids may have had Alice stones, otherwise, I don't know. Yomi-san may have used her water Alice in that cake, so the cake could stay cool for a while…"

"…"

"…Who _is _that Yomi-san, anyway?" Ruka asked, breaking a short moment of silence.

Anna and Nonoko stared at each other, Hotaru and Misaki looked at each other oddly.

"We barely know anything about Yomi at all. We don't even know her last name," Nonoko said slowly, suddenly very, very interested in her cucumber sandwich.

"…" Apparently, the subject was slightly taboo.

But Tsubasa decided to push it anyway.

"How do you know her?"

"…"

"…"

"…Matsuri was the ones who brought us there," Misaki told him, biting into another madeleine. "It's sort of like having a best friend for years, but you don't even know their favorite color or their favorite food. It doesn't really occur to you…'cuz you're having fun with them." "…" "…"

The wind blew lightly, leaves on the trees rustling softly, grass and flowers swaying the peaceful wind.

_Can you honestly trust her?_

_Think twice before you act._

_Because you never know…_

_Who will turn on you._

_Who can you trust,_

_Who can you not,_

_Who you must kill,_

_Who you must keep alive?_

"G…u…ys…" A faint, weak voice was heard. Everything turned to see Mikan Sakura, leaning against the tree, her breathing thick and hard, her hair messed up, her clothes wrinkled.

"We…ca…n't…st…ay…he…r…e…."

"Mikan! You shouldn't be out of bed?! You're not well enough to walk!!" Nonoko almost screamed, holding her leader steady.

"No…list…en….to me…we…have…to…Yom…i…she…we….ha…ve…to…go…café…"She gripped Nonoko's hand, almost begging her to listen, to understand.

And once again, she collapsed.

Mikan Sakura was not well at all.

…_Guys! We can't stay here. No, listen, we have to…Yomi, she…we have to go…café…_

…

We have to go…to Yomi-san's café?

...

* * *

**Whew, that was sort of difficult to write. This chapter is very scene-shifty. **

**… I have to get off the computer very soon, so I can't think of anything to say. D:**


	15. Truth

**OMFG. I have 307 reviews. O:  
Whoa…That's the most I've ever gotten.  
Wow…**

**T-T **

**Thanks for reviewing, everyone!!  
I couldn't have continued Love is Just Plain Hell without everyone's kind support & reviews either. :D**

**So, here's the 15****th**** chapter!**

* * *

_Huff…huff…_

"I can't do it. She'll die at this rate," Hotaru told everyone. "Painkiller will only hurt her more if she gets wounded and the effect wears off. She's already too weak to even move."

"…"

Natsume had brought Mikan back to bed, shivering slightly for a brief second. Her body was still so cold. He was now holding her hand, sending the warmth through her body.

"….But…from what Mikan said, does she want us to go to Yomi-san's café?" Misaki asked, unsure.

"…" Hotaru went quiet, thinking. She couldn't really assume anything, but from what their leader said, it was mostly clear how she wanted to go to Yomi's café.

…But why?

"I think we should try when Mikan's awake," Anna whispered. "She seems a bit better...she needs to explain. We don't know what we're looking for at Yomi-san's."

"…"

The girls agreed amongst themselves, the guys watching in the background.

Natsume stared at the girl before him.

_Please…live._

He was trying so hard to keep this single girl alive.

And he knew he couldn't hide his feelings any longer.

* * *

**Three Days Later…**

"…Mikan?" Anna squeaked, peeking into her leader's room, along with Hellfire members and the rest of SAGA.

"…Oh Hell, she's not there," Misaki gasped in horror.

"That's not possible," Tsubasa argued, peeking inside. "…Oh Hell, you're right."

"What do you mean, she's gone?" Hotaru demanded.

"Hotaru, she's not in bed—"

"Boo."

"KYAAA!!"

"UWAAAHHH!!"

The nine people turned in surprise.

"Wow. Nice reaction," the familiar brunette chuckled lightly.

Even Natsume's eyes had opened pretty wide.

"…So you're fine now?" Hotaru said flatly, as the brunette nodded.

"Still weak, though. I can't move my body too well, and I can't too much physical activity."

"…Why, though? Shouldn't your body be used to your Alices?" Anna said.

"…It's not about my Alices."

"…What do you mean?" Koko probed.

"…Well, why don't we go there now? The cause of everything."

"What?" Tsubasa said, confused.

Mikan smiled.

"…Yomi-san's café."

* * *

_Huff…huff…_

"Are you alright?" Ruka asked Mikan, as they made their way to the café.

"…I'm….fine…" The brunette muttered.

The fire-caster stared at her.

"…What?" She shot at him.

He said nothing but pick her up and throw her on his back.

No one minded, except Mikan.

But she couldn't protest, she was too tired already, her energy drained.

"…You're heavier than you look," Natsume muttered to her.

"S-Shut up."

They all travelled in silence for a long time, before Mikan suddenly screamed, "INCOMING!!"

Water came shooting out of nowhere, some in the shape of dragons, others in arrows and monsters.

"What. The Hell." Tsubasa said, stopping a few with his shadow Alice.

"…"Hotaru narrowed her eyes, but didn't say anything, putting a bullet into her custom-made gun. She shot at three of the water dragons.

"Imai!! You should know that regular bullets won't work—" Koko began.

The dragons froze, then broke soon after, not a trace of water or ice on the ground.

"…on them…" Koko trailed off.

The inventor raised an eyebrow. "Who said there were normal bullets?"

Anna and Nonoko smiled simultaneously. Even though they had different Alices, hair, eye color, etc, they acted very much like twins.

"Who said Hotaru made normal things?" They said.

Anna and Nonoko held out their hands, showing everyone that they had nothing. But they quickly clenched her hand and opened it again, revealing four knives in each hand, all a different silvery color. Sleight of hand.

"The knives all have a different effect depending on their color," They explained in unison.

Misaki did the same thing, except she held cards and balls in her hand.

"The balls can be smoke bombs, too…they have all sorts of different abilities. The cards are just for fun."

"You can use _those_ in battle?" Tsubasa snickered. Misaki raised an eyebrow.

"Want a demonstration?" The girl threw a card, which stuck onto the metal pole next to Tsubasa. A small gash on his right cheek started to bleed lightly. Misaki held up another card, throwing it up in the air before catching it again. She opened her hands to reveal a band aid, which she stuck onto Tsubasa's wound.

"These were made by Hotaru, Tsubasa. Whatever she makes, you can use it. The cards are made to transform into anything, but they take the form of cards 'cuz Hotaru just designed them that way."

"What about Sakura-san?" Koko asked curiously.

The brunette held up a gun like Hotaru's.

"Same as Hotaru," She said softly. "With an array of bullets. You guys have never seen our real weapons, have you?"

Ruka shook his head.

"But why did you choose the weapons you have now?" Yuu questioned.

Anna and Nonoko smiled.

"My Alice needs to be bottled, and it must be drunk or thrown to take affect," The blue-haired girl explained.

"Since we've been throwing things since we've joined the gang, our aim is pretty good now. Knives are easy to throw, and they're light when you're used to them." The light pink-haired girl finished.

Everyone turned to Misaki. "I didn't really have a reason for choosing mine. They're fun. I've always liked the circus."

Tsubasa sweatdropped a little.

"Bullets go far," Mikan said. "And there's a wide array of bullets too."

"They're quick." Said Hotaru, examining her own creation. "And if you have the right bullet you can shoot through anything. Simple and fast."

"…How often do you use them?" Ruka asked quietly.

"…You think we kill people everyday or something? We only use it for situations like this." Misaki told him.

"And the situation is…?" Natsume said, irritated that they weren't moving.

"…You'll see. The water just proves…" Mikan trailed off.

"…Let's just go," Yuu suggested quietly.

And they started towards Yomi's Café once again.

* * *

"…Nothing's changed," Anna said quietly, looking at the familiar white building.

"…That's what you think…" Mikan told her, her voice cracking a little. She turned the knob and walked in.

"Hee hee…hello, everyone…" Yomi said, sitting on the counter, the seven maids behind her.

The room was no longer a cute café scene. Instead, it was just a room full of dead grass, skeletons and skulls, and a few patches of bloodstained and wilted flowers.

The counter Yomi sat on was a large piece of stone.

"What…the hell…?" Nonoko whispered.

"It smells like rotting flesh…" Yuu gasped, pinching his nose.

"We've been waiting for you!!" Ami and Yuuki said cheerfully, and the rest of the maids giggled.

"What…happened here?" Misaki asked, horrified.

"Nothing," Kana said.

"You…" Kuri began,

"Just…" Kana continued,

"Never…" Kuri again.

"Realized." Kana finished.

"…What do you mean?" Anna squeaked.

"You still haven't figured it out?" Miki said cruelly.

"…Yomi…" Mikan's voice was firm as she slid off of Natsume's back. "When did you start poisoning my cakes?"

"WHAT?!" Tsubasa, Koko, Ruka, Yuu, Anna, Nonoko and Misaki shouted. Natsume's eyes widended, Hotaru's jaw dropped slightly, her eyes full of shock.

"Oh? Mikan's finally caught on." Yomi laughed. "Since the beginning, dearest Mikan. Ever since you came here with that goddamn Matsuri."

"…It was you," Hotaru breathed. "You were the one…"

"…Who killed Matsuri?" Yomi finished for the violet-eyed girl. "Yes, it was me. I never stabbed her directly, it was all in these…"

The maids held up plates of beautifully and expertly made cakes.

"You never expected it, did you?" Misa said, her mouth forming into a cruel smile.

Suki twirled around in a circle, carefree. "The plan was perfect. And you can't do anything about it now."

"What do you—" Misaki began, before falling to her knees. "Ugh!!"

"Mi—"

Tsubasa had tried to ask her what was wrong, before he himself collapsed.

One by one, like dominoes, the members of SAGA and Hellfire fell to the ground, paralyzed, sweating, their vision blurring, and unable to move.

"W…W-What…?" Yuu managed to splutter.

"I never said I only drugged Mikan's pastries, did I?" Yomi giggled, jumping off of the rock.

"Dearest Mikan…you were such a fool…" she said, lifting the brunette's head with her finger below Mikan's chin. "My plan was absolutely perfect; you put so much trust in me after Matsuri was killed! You came here often with the other members of Frozen Butterfly!! And when many of them moved or died off, you came here to let go of your troubles!!"

The owner of the false café laughed loudly, the maids staring at the members of Hellfire and SAGA with scorn.

"Then…who…are you…?" Anna struggled to speak.

Yomi hopped back onto the boulder, folding her arms, her mouth forming into a tight, demonic smile.

"My name is Yomi Shizuki. I am the daughter of the AAO's president."

* * *

**Sorry for the shortish chapter. XP**

**Whoa. I bet you didn't expect that. It's getting kind of intense now, ne?  
**

**I was seriously debating, because I really liked Yomi-san and the seven maids.**

**Well, I'll see If I want her to be nice or just an evil Yomi-san.**

**What do you guys want? There's a poll on my profile. :D**

**So, this was a major twist, I guess. You'll find out more about Yomi-san, why she killed Matsuri, etc. in the next chapter. :D **

**Remember, please vote on my profile!**


	16. Secrets

**Writer's Notes: ** just came up with another twist! 8D

By the way, due to circumstances, I have to use wordpad instead of Microsoft Word.

Thus, my mistakes are more easily overlooked. D:

So I apologize for mistakes that you will surely find. D8

* * *

The room went as silent as a graveyard. And, from the looks of the 'cafe', it probably _was _a graveyard. Or something similar.

The room filled with a mixture of emotions. It was almost hard to breathe, with all the tension and disbelief.

For a while, no one said anything. Then, Misaki burst out laughing.

"Jeez, Yomi-san!! You almost had us there!!" She said, wiping away a tear. "This is the fifth time you've got us!"

The cafe owner narrowed her eyes. "I've stopped playing a long time ago, Misaki."

"Please, Yomi-san, tell us this isn't true!"

"Well, that fact that you're not making excuses like that idiot Misaki means somewhere in your heart, you know that it is true," Yomi said, smiling sweetly. "Please, Anna dear, you can't tell me I'm not serious when the illusion has faded."

"Illusion...?" Nonoko said, her voice shaky.

"There never was a cafe," Yuuki said. "in fact, about a quarter of this town is merely just an illusion. You never went to any other stores expect here, so you wouldn't know. This is just a merely battlefield, bodies rotted until only the bones remain. Regular humans don't see the illusion Alice, thus, they avoid it...no one is brave enough to come clean it either..."

"But you...your Alices! And all the solid objects!!" Nonoko said.

"Oh, please," Misa sneered. "Who said we told you everything about our Alices?"

"When you've trained with your Alice and it's become high-level, Alices can work differently." Yomi smirked. "They can work to your advantage or disadvantage."

"...!!"

Natsume stared at the short-haired woman, and he struggled to move his hand. Perhaps, just maybe, if he could muster enough energy to use his Alice--

"It's futile," Kana laughed, walking forwards a bit.

_Mind-reading..._Natsume immediately thought, and grimaced.

His Alice. It didn't work.

"Paralyzation and Alice Prevention." Tsubasa grumbled to himself, his face contorted into a pained expression.

"Hmmm...well now." Yomi said, resuming her position on the large rock. "I'm sure you're dying to ask questions. I'll be nice and let you."

Mikan struggled to speak, although her voice was still strong and firm.

"The one thing we all want to know..." She said, her eyes locking onto Yomi's. "Why did you kill Matsuri?"

For an instant, the brunette saw the short-haired girl's eyes look to the right, as if she was nervous about telling them.

"I'll tell you something..." Yomi said, her voice soft and yet slightly demonic. "Matsuri was full of lies."

"Matsuri never told lies unless it was needed," Nonoko argued weakly.

"Unless it was necessary," Yomi told her. "Who tells _her _what's necessary and what's not? Who said that the lies she told you weren't nessecary?"

Nonoko bit her lip.

"What did you know about your own gang leader?" Ami said, twirling around.

"You knew..." Kana began.

"Basically nothing." Kuri finished.

"You followed her just because she _said_ she had been abused or whatnot," Yuuki added.

"You know nothing about Matsuri!!" Anna and Nonoko screamed in fury.

"_I _know nothing about _Matsuri?_" Yomi repeated. "Please."

"Then why don't you tell us?" Hotaru said, her voice emotionless as usual. But her face portrayed shock and disbelief still.

"Hmmm...I should, but you just won't believe me," Yomi said, smiling. "Especially now. So, I've decided to do this the painful way. Well, this will be fun."

She snapped her fingers and instantly, like a game, their bodies felt lighter, healthier. She had removed the paralyzation, the Alice prevention, or whatever she had used to drug them.

"YOMI!!" Anna and Nonoko screamed simultaneously, reaching for their knives.

The knives were a blur of color, yet it wasn't fast enough.

Ami and Yuuki's hands bled as they caught the knives, the effect they were supposed to have nullified by an Alice stone around the all the girls' necks.

Mikan was obviously much better now and ready for action. No longer pale, weak or exhausted.

She reached for her gun, jamming in a few bullets and aiming for Yomi on the boulder.

The brunette's face showed nothing but calmness, but inside, she was boling with intense fury and hatred for Matsuri's murderer.

Yomi closed her eyes and moved a little to the right, dodging the bullet as Mikan continued to shoot.

"If you're part of the AAO," Mikan managed through gritted teeth. "Then why did you help me escape?"

"Mikan, dear, I'm the president's daughter, but I want nothing to do with capturing Alices as slaves or weapons." Yomi said, still dodging the bullets.

"So," Hotaru said, her face calm and composed again, showing no emotion as she tried to shoot Kuri and Kana. "Why did you kill Matsuri?"

Misaki fought with Misa and Yuuki, whilst Hellfire tried to use hand-to-hand combat with Ami and Suki.

"I told you," Yomi said. "You wouldn't believe me."

"And why's that?" Mikan said, loading her gun with more Alice bullets.

"...Because...you all love Matsuri," Yomi whispered, her face softening. "And from what you know, it's not possible to believe it without a problem..."

The words were much too quiet for Hotaru to hear. Mikan, on the other hand, had mastered the sound Alice and heard everything perfectly.

Yomi's face regained the same expression as before, playful yet ready to fight.

"Does it even matter now? She's dead," Yomi smirked. She had appearently not expected anyone to hear her.

"Because you killed her!!" Anna screamed without taking her eyes off of Ami and Yuuki.

The cafe owner smiled.

_A fake smile..._Mikan realized. But what was she hiding? She had nothing to keep from them..._I think,_ the brunette thought. _If she didn't kill Matsuri, though, then...why is she taking the blame...?_

Though Kana seemed to also have the mind-reading Alice, she didn't answer.

Hotaru jammed an ice bullet into her gun, aiming at Yuuki, whose back was turned. As soon at the girl figured out what was happening, she quickly turned, attemping to block the bullet.

No luck. The bullet hit Yuuki's chest, and she hit the walla she fell backward.

"HOTARU!!" Misaki screamed in horror.

"I didn't kill her, you moron!!" Hotaru shouted, slightly aggrivated her gang member would think such a thing.

"Oh, I see..." Yuuki murmured, as she rose. She examined her Alice stone, which had the ice bullet stuck in it, with a thick layer of ice encasing it, thus preventing it from being used.

Hotaru aimed for Misa's Alice stone.

Yomi raised her hand, water spouting from the ground.

Mikan immediately shot it with an ice bullet, the water freezing. Yomi just smiled, clapping her hands together, the frozen pillar of ice forming into icicles.

"Mikan dear, please don't underestimate me." Yomi cooed.

"I'm not your _dear _any longer, Shizuki. Yomi was once my friend, but that Yomi is here no longer." the brunette hissed. The girl had nothing to hide, and she wasn't denying anything. She was the one who killed their beloved leader.

"Awwww, Mikan. I'm so heartbroken..." The cafe owner said, her voice full of mock sadness. She smirked, the icicles flying towards the brunette.

Mikan dodged them easily, moving gracefully as if she was dancing.

"As expected," Yomi said, a sword of ice forming in her hand. "I'd like to test your ice skills, Mikan!!"

The brunette had no time to form a sword of ice in the second it took for Yomi to be right in front of her.

_Clang!!_

The sound of clashing resonated throughout out the battlefield. Yomi's sword collided with Mikan's icicle, the only thing she had enough time to form.

Yomi hopped back, smiling as she watched Mikan form her own ice sword, sliding her gun into her belt.

Again the two swords clashed, small chips of ice flying off from the impact.

_"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"_

Mikan turned at the sound of the scream.

"Nonoko!!" She yelled, as her friend sank to her knees, holding her stomach. A bloody, red gash across her stomach could be seen. The crimson liquid was splattered on the floor, and the blue-haired girl's hand was soaked with it.

"Don't you dare..." Yomi began, as Mikan turned. "LOOK AWAY!!"

"Ugh!!"

Mikan jumped to dodge the attack, yet she was too distracted and jumped a bit too late, earning her a gash on her thigh. The blood ran down the girl's leg, although she took no notice.

Meanwhile, Hotaru had knocked out Kana, but that was it. The single battle had taken much too long and too much energy. Hotaru was already bleeding in several places like the rest of them, and one eye was closed, due to a cut on her eyelid. A few maids had long-distance Alices, and fending them off while Kana read her moves, dodging effortlessly. While she supported her other gang members and sealed her thoughts, she had used a tranquilizing bullet to put Kana to sleep.

"Damn...it..." Hotaru panted, on the verge of collapsing. Ruka held her up just as she was about to fall.

He whistled, sending in a few birds. He was too weak to make his call go further to call in animals farther away.

"Sorry..." Ruka apologized, as he mustered enough energy to produce a small smile. He looked like he was going to collaspe, aslso.

_He's too kind, _Hotaru thought. _he can't bear watching his animals get hurt..._

Not that she disliked that, but he wasn't made for battle.

"Why are you apologizing, moron?" Hotaru said. "This is a battle. If you fall, you fall. There's nothing...to be...ashamed..."

"Of...?" Ruka finished, as they both blacked out, the blue-eyed boy holding the genius inventor in his blood-stained arms.

_They're fine, _Mikan told herself, as she and Yomi continued to sword fight. _They're just unconscious! Nonoko will be fine, Yuu is applying first aid on her wound..._

The brunette winced. The gash on her thigh hurt, it was making it hard for her to stand and land from a jump properly.

Why was this battle so hard?! What the hell was Hellfire doing?!

Tsubasa was the most wounded. Since he needed to stay put in order for his shadow Alice to stay intact, he couldn't dodge or move even if Kuri or someone came at him with a chainsaw.

Misaki helped a little by guarding him using clones, but by creating so many, her own energy was depleting a bit more quickly than she would have liked..

Natsume was doing okay, but a few still had Alice stones that still worked in their possession. He managed to knock out Ami and Yuuki with his fire Alice, but...

"HYUUGA!!" Mikan screamed, as she cut Yomi's face a little. "DON'T USE SO MUCH OF YOUR ALICE!!"

_Of course, _Natsume thought to himself. _She's worrying more for herself than for others. _

Mikan had kept her promise, telling no one that Natsume's Alice shortened his lifespan.

"Mikan, distractions will cost you!!" Yomi yelled, as she managed to produce a gash on the brunette's side.

_Natsume, Misaki, Yuu, Tsubasa, Anna and Koko are still standing, _Mikan thought to herself, ignoring what the cafe owner had said. _Hotaru and Ruka will be fine, they're unconscious and out of the way of any battles...Nonoko's out of the way too, Yuu's causing some distortions with his Alice..._

The scenery spun, the area changing. There was snow, bears, oceans, overgrown vines, etc in the one area.

"Illusion Alice, huh? Doesn't affect me, Mikan dear." Yomi-san sang. "Tobita's Illusion Alice isn't high enough a level to have them be real!"

Mikan cursed, her hands red and numb from the cold of the ice sword.

"TSUBASA!!" the brunette heard Misaki scream in horror.

"I'm fine, Misaki," Tsubasa was saying. "Just...lemme...sleep for a bit..."

_Unconscious, _Mikan told herself. _Unconscious, unconscious, unconscious. _

She couldn't have anyone die here. She wouldn't be able to handle anymore close ones leaving her.

"Hmmmmm," the short-haired girl said, her lips curled into a satisfied smile. "Well now. Let's start a real fight, Mikan-chan..."

Immediately, both ice swords disappeared.

Yomi whistled, leaves forming out of nowhere, speeding towards Mikan. The brunette used a wind Alice to blow them away.

What Mikan could do was limited here. She couldn't create an earthquake, because her friends, both concious and unconious were too close. Firestorm? Out of the question. Fire would spread.

Yomi's Alice was water. She would be able to control the water Mikan used.

Air...?

Worth a try.

Mikan made a movement as if she was cutting the air, creatind almost-invisible blades of air.

Yomi tried dodging, but seeing as the attack was practically invisible, she got cut on her right cheek, her arm and side.

Bingo.

You couldn't freeze air, burn it, or catch it with vines.

Again, Mikan attacked with the wind, Yomi being cut slightly once again, get she dodged more of them this time.

The cafe owner was good at adjusting to things.

Yomi smirked. "Please, Mikan dear, is that all you can do??"

The brunette reached for her gun, jamming in a bullet before shooting.

Yomi dodged easily, and Mikan continued to shoot.

_The distortions are wavering..._Mikan thought to herself. She glanced at Yuu's direction.

The illusionist was trying very hard to concentrate, yet he was being distracted. His illusions couldn't do very much at all in this situation.

Anna wasn't holding on well either. She used her knives for long-distance, so fighting close-distance weakened her.

Koko was already out. Mind reading couldn't do much in this battle either.

_Natsume, Misaki, Anna and Yuu are standing..._Mikan thought in her mind.

Shit. They were losing.

Mikan concentrated, trying to block things out from her mind.

She thought of hurricanes and tornadoes, violent winds and storms.

Yomi was much too good at battling with Alices and long-distance. The only thing left was close-range weapons.

The brunette opened her eyes, and a strong wind blinded Yomi for a few minutes.

In this time, Mikan formed another ice sword, but a bit shorter this time, so it was easier to maneuver.

She shot forwards, hopefully catching the cafe owner off-guard.

The wind disappeared almost immediately, and in Yomi's hand was a greenish sword.

Mikan narrowed her eyes. "You can control all four elements, can't you, Shizuki?"

"Correct!" The girl laughed, and the wind sword met Mikan's ice sword. "Ice is made of water, so that's why I can control ice, too."

_"ARRRGH!!" _

"You can't afford to look away this time, dear Mikan," Yomi said, her voice sugary and sweet. "It'll cost you big time."

The cafe owner was faster, stronger, and better than before. No second was wasted hesitating now.

"Damn...you..." Mikan heard Natsume say, and she heard a thud.

She couldn't help it, she turned to look at her companions.

All unconscious and bloodied, and several in critical condition. There was no one without some sort of scratch or bruise.

"I told you..." Yomi's voice was demonic.

Mikan turned quickly, only to see that the other girl wasn't there.

"Looking away would cost you big time."

_**"...UGH!"**_

The green sword was plunged into Mikan's chest. Blood splattered onto the ground, staining the grass an flowers a scarlet red. The brunette coughed, spitting out the red liquid.

"You never do listen, do you?" Yomi said, her voice sweet as she watched Frozen Sakura's leader fall.

"Fuck...you..." Mikan managed to spit out, before her eyes closed.

Silence filled the battlefield once again, as a four of the maids gathered around her.

"...You really did it, didn't you?" Misa said quietly, placing a hand on their leader's shoulder.

"You did good," Yuuki added.

"She...might forgive you if you told her," Ami suggested, looking at the brunette.

Yomi shook her head.

"No. It's better off if I don't. Let her hate me. She's been through too much betrayal already. I won't add to her painful memories."

The short-haired girl smiled sadly.

"But--" Suki started.

Yomi held up her index finger.

"It's fine. I'll take care of it. For now, we'll teleport them to the hospital."

"..."

No one said anything else.

Mikan finally lost her own consciousness before thinking: _Take care of what?_

And then she let the darkness pull her into sleep.

* * *

**Writer's End Notes:**

Okay, so, I tried doing a battle scene. D8

I'm not sure if that worked out too well.

...

I'm not very good with battle scenes. Dx

So, yeah.

I guess you can guess the result of the 'Should Yomi be Good?' poll. (Yeah, that wasn't the real title but whatever)

So...yeah...

Expect another twist! 8D

Or some of you might have already figured it out. I'm pretty transparent and have the same ideas as many of you. -sweatdrop-


	17. Somebody Care to Explain?

**Writer's Notes: **Argh. I had planned to update around maybe a week after chapter 16, but obviously, where the hell did that plan go?

After** Breaking Dawn **from the **Twilight Series **came out, I sorta dropped everything else and read...ahahaha...:sweatdrop:

I'm also planning to delete **The Key to my Heart**, or at least re-write it. I don't know why, writing fanfics about witches and wizards and magic is...hard. I have all these complicated ideas in my head and I can't get them out. -sob-

But anyway, here's chapter 17 after probably a month. D:

* * *

If someone made a drink that made problems go away, that person would be richer than Bill Gates. And that stuff would sell faster than anything else.

She wanted to scream. To explain.

_No. _She told herself firmly. _Absolutely not. _

She had already gone as far as to injure them enough to be in the hospital for a minimum of a week. Backing down now was not an option. Telling them the truth and put them through more betrayal and pain was even more of an unavailable option than backing down.

All eight people were ready to sacrifice themselves. As friends.

Though technically they were ex-friends now.

But this was fine.

Yomi sucked in the air nervously, exhaling shakily.

She should have thought things through a bit more carefully. She played around way too much fighting with Mikan and the others.

The black-haired woman slapped her forehead and closed her eyes. No matter what, they would have to move quickly.

_She _would be coming back to deceive them once again.

* * *

It was the medical smell that woke Anna. She was the first female to wake up. Nonoko followed soon after.

The pink-haired girl looked around, dazed, her head throbbing lightly. She took in the objects she saw, but not processing them in her mind.

It wasn't until Koko cut into her daze and said "We're in the hospital." that she snapped into reality.

Almost instantly, everything flooded back to her. The fight, the bloodshed, Yomi's betrayal...

Anna's stupid looking face that had taken over her while she was dazed immediately turned into a grimace.

_"Fuck." _Anna and Nonoko said in unison. The first word that escaped their lips.

"..."

Everyone was quiet. Anna took another look around, finding that all the male members were up in sitting position, except Tsubasa, who was lying down because he was the most sore and wounded. Misaki, Hotatu and Mikan were still unconscious. They were also all dressed in white, medical patient gowns. Robes for the guys, since Natsume wouldn't be caught dead in a gown.

"...What did the doctor say?" Nonoko said, leaning back, examining her wounds.

"Surprisingly, although we look hideous, they're all minor wounds. Scratches and bruises and a few larger cuts, although not deep." Yuu explained. "We still have to rest for a week at the minimum, though."

"I'm just sore so it kinda hurts to get up. The cuts themselves don't hurt much." Tsubasa mumbled, his voice cheerful.

"..."

Anna's face was unreadable as she took in the information.

"She was just playing," Misaki's voice came softly, yet angered.

The two 'twins' turned as Misaki slowly rose from her bed.

"She wasn't serious about the fight at all!!" Nonoko growled, her hands balling up into fists.

"But what was her motive?" Ruka asked, his voice firm. "Why did she want to fight? Why did she poison our pastries?"

"Because she's the AAO's daughter," Misaki said simply. "The AAO is always after the Academy."

"But she said she wanted nothing to do with the AAO's activities," Ruka reasoned.

"And can you believe everything the enemy tells you?" Natsume told his best friend.

"..."

Anna flopped back onto her bed.

"This sucks. I don't know what the hell is going on anymore."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Hey." Misaki suddenly said. "...Why are we all in the same room anyway?"

"..."

"..."

Koko looked at Ruka and Ruka looked at Koko.

Everyone turned to Yuu.

He coughed. "We are all in the same room because the doctors figures it would be easier for us to discuss things and to treat us."

"...Speaking of which, why do you know...?" Nonoko said.

"Because I was one of the least injured, and I was the first to wake. I asked and the doctor told me."

Misaki glanced at Mikan and Hotaru, who showed no signs of waking.

"Then what's up with them?"

"They're just sleeping a bit longer than others. No worries, no worries." A familiar voice said.

"Naru-sensei, what are you doing here?" Anna said, titling her head to one side.

"Just to deliver a message," the blond-haired teacher said. He held up a folded white piece of paper between two fingers.

"...From who?" Nonoko asked, her eyes narrowing just the slightest bit.

"I don't know. It was teleported here without an address or anything."

"…"

The three girls looked at each other before Misaki finally nodded and held out her hand.

The paper was given to Misaki, who slowly opened the folded paper. Four words were printed in an elegant script.

"I'm sorry. Please understand." Nonoko read.

The paper was crumpled and thrown into the small, white garbage that stood between Anna and Nonoko's bed.

"Understand my ass! Understand what, exactly?!" Anna shouted. "Understand that she wanted us out of her way? Yeah, I—ow!"

The pink-haired girl rubbed the back of her head.

"Shut up. Don't you know it's rude to shout at such an idiotic level when someone's sleeping?" The emotionless voice said, slightly irritated.

Hotaru had obviously woken up and shot Anna with her baka-gun. Where did she keep that thing anyway?

"What the hell are you shouting about anyway?"

Nonoko reached into the little trash can that held the crumpled paper and tossed it to the inventor soundlessly.

"…" As the inventor read the four words, her eyes narrowed.

"See?!" Anna yelled, exasperated. "Don't you think—"

"…Something's…missing." Hotaru said, sending a glare at Anna to make her shut up.

"What?" Ruka asked.

"…"

The violet-eyed girl ignored the question and glanced at Mikan.

"…save this until Mikan wakes up." She commanded.

"Why? There's nothing else," Misaki asked, taking the paper and examining it again.

"Just do it. There's more than meets the eye."

"…"

Misaki folded and placed it on the table near Mikan.

"I'm going back to sleep." Hotaru told everyone, and that was the end of the conversation.

* * *

"Hahahaha! It's pointless!" the female voice laughed harshly.

Yomi panted, a tear rolling down her face.

She had no energy to get up anymore. The coolness of the concrete floor felt good. Even if her leg had been distorted and it hurt. A lot.

The air smelt wet and bloody. It was making her nauseous. She needed fresh air.

Everything looked red. Was everything seriously covered in blood? Or was she just imaging that? The place covered with both hers and the maids' blood?

"You thought you could stop me, did you?" the female voice said again.

"No. But the fact didn't keep me from trying." Yomi whispered weakly, before coughing up a fountain of the red liquid.

"This is why I hate you more than anything else in the world. So _perfect. _So _happy. _It makes me sick to look at you."

"Then don't. No one asked you to look at me while you talk--ugh!"

"Another reason I hate you, Yomi," the female hissed as she kicked the short-haired girl with quite a lot of force in the stomach. "You always have something idiotic to say, even when you're going to die."

Yomi suddenly screamed, the sound almost forced out of her because she was so weak.

A crack could be heard, and the other female laughed.

"A beautiful sound isn't it?" she asked, lifting Yomi's head with her foot.

"If that's what you call beautiful, you're beyond twisted." she struggled to say.

"Perhaps I am twisted, Yomi," a smile danced across the female's lips. "I never get tired of that sound, even after hearing it twenty one times."

The seven maids all lay in impossible poses, each with a different number of broken arms and legs, all snapped as easily as a thin stick by this twisted woman.

Another scream escaped Yomi's lips as her left leg snapped audibly.

"Do you plan to break all my arms and limbs?" Yomi said, a few beads of sweat rolling and dripping onto the black concrete.

"Yeah. Maybe a few others, too…" the woman laughed again before breaking the remaining arm.

The black-haired woman refused to scream. She clamped her mouth shut and closed her eyes.

"Hmmm…rebellious now are you? Well then…"

This time, three cracks were heard. What broke?

Again, Yomi refused to scream and glared up at the woman with strong eyes.

"Another thing I hate about you. Your eyes." The female growled before continuing to break bones.

Yomi closed her eyes and concentrated. If this move killed her, well…at least the maids would be fine. Her friends. Her gang.

Slowly, she could feel her body disappearing. From the pain or the teleportation Alice starting to work, she couldn't tell.

Maybe it was both.

She could hear the other woman screaming curses, as she kicked with more force.

The café owner couldn't feel anything anymore…

She sighed as she sank into unconsciousness.

* * *

" YOU'RE SUCH AN IDIOT!" Misaki was yelling, softly punching Tsubasa.

He laughed.

"You're so cute when you're angry, Misaki-chan," he teased, and the pink-haired girl punched him harder.

"Ow, ow, sorry, hey, I'm still inured you know!!"

"Serves you right!!" Misaki smirked triumphantly. "OW!!"

"I thought I already told you to shut up when someone is sleeping," Hotaru's voice came again, cranky, her baka-gun emitting a little steam.

"Hotaru-chan," Misaki whined.

"No excuses. Now Shut. Up."

"Whatsalltheruckus…" a soft voice mumbled, jumbling the words together.

"Mikan-chan!" Nonoko exclaimed.

"'Bout time the leader wakes up to keep control of her idiot gang." Natsume murmured.

_Baka! Baka!_

Hotaru Imai strikes again with her infamous baka gun!

"Don't lump me together with them," the genius inventor hissed before turning back to Mikan.

Natsume glared at the back of the inventor's head, massaging his own.

"Are you all right, Natsume?" Ruka asked his friend, who didn't respond.

Hotaru grabbed the rumpled paper off the table and handed it to Mikan.

"You should know." Was all she said.

The brunette sleepily took the paper and closed her eyes. Her hands glowed, and the paper became a block of ice.

"What…?" Koko began, but Hotaru silenced him with a glare.

Mikan held the block in her hands and lifted it up, blowing gently.

The room temperature dropped, the ice cracking quickly, forming into letters.

"…Don't let her deceive you." Misaki read slowly, and the ice broke and disappeared.

"…what the hell is this?" Mikan said, still slightly groggy.

"The original note said 'I'm sorry. Please understand.'" Anna said.

"…Yomi…?" Mikan said thoughtfully, totally awake now.

Koko's head was out the door, listening to something.

"What's up?" Tsubasa mumbled.

"Apparently a group of people are injured. Pretty seriously, I heard. Critical condition. Oh crap, they're coming this way."

His head was out of the doorway immediately.

The nurses were yelling 'out of the way! Emergency!' as they wheeled the patients past.

Ruka's eyes widened.

"That couldn't be…" Koko said.

"What?" Nonoko demanded.

"…I think that was Yomi and the rest of her workers…" Yuu whispered.

The females gasped, their eyes widening.

"…what the hell is going on?" Mikan whispered.

* * *

**Writer's End Notes: **Yeah…sorry for the late update…and the short chapter. D:

I don't know if anyone's figured out who the woman with Yomi was yet…

Meh. My head's spinning. xP

I spent a couple hours straight on the chapter…and I've re-written this five times literally already…:sweatdrop:

Didn't know how to form my idea into words and keep things in or out.

This chapter didn't really turn out how I wanted it to…but…yeah. I feel like I'm missing a lot of details though...-.-

Hm. Maybe I'll edit it later. -flails-

Again, sorry for the extremely late update!


	18. Sinking but Floating

**Writer's Notes: **_Finally_. Chapter 18. Took long enough, didn't it? D;

-

-

-

-

_Falling and Falling…_

_Darker and darker…_

_My personal pit…_

_Of lies and despair._

…

_Umm, so tell me. _

_What are the lies,_

_And what are the truths?_

_What are the harmless stories_

_I've made up along the way?_

_And then what isn't a story,_

_I've made up along the way?_

_Please, can you help me?_

_Please, can you tell me?_

_Which one's the truth,_

_And which one's the lie?_

_I honestly_

_Can't keep track anymore. _

_Who will believe me now_

_After all I've done?_

_Sinking and sinking…_

_Perhaps I can escape…_

_And leave everything behind…_

_Darker...and...darker..._

_-_

_-_

_-_

_-_

"What the hell…" Mikan repeated as she stared at the bloodied girl, every inch of her body covered in bandages, her face covered also. The only thing not covered was her nose so she could breathe.

"They're also…" Anna trailed off, staring at the seven maids. Although their wounds were less serious and leaking less blood (slightly), they were still in critical condition.

"Who…could have done this? Yomi is the _AAO's daughter,_ for pete's sake! She's probably been trained since she was _born_!" Misaki nearly shrieked. "How…how did they…how could they end up like this?!"

She was getting closer to being hysterical.

"…" Hotaru just stared, her face blank.

What caused this?

"Oh…? Friends…?" A soft voice said behind them.

Everyone turned to see a young nurse, her eyes sad, gripping a clipboard.

"I'm afraid their conditions aren't very stable yet. Especially Yomi Shizuki-san." The nurse hesitated. "She's on the verge of death. It's up to her whether she stays alive or not."

Walking over to the café owner, the nurse scribbled down a few words on Yomi's condition, checking on the seven maids, also. "Hmmm…" she mumbled to herself. "I think these girls will survive, though…"

She adjusted a few things and left, bowing lightly to the two gangs before leaving.

"…"

"I think we should leave, too…" Nonoko whispered, a little disoriented.

"…"

Everyone silently followed. Mikan glanced at Yomi one last time before exiting.

_What is the reason for this, Yomi?_

* * *

"…"

Staring absentmindedly out the window, class began.

It was so normal, so peaceful. So…strange.

"And now you take this and—huh?"

Narumi broke off as Jinno motioned at the doorway. They whispered for a few minutes before Narumi spoke to the class again.

"Umm…apparently we have someone who would like to visit…?"

The door slid open wider, and an older girl popped her head in.

"Hey, everyone!" she said. Golden eyes and dark blue hair. Mikan's eyes widened slightly.

So familiar…so, so familiar…yet from where…?

The brunette turned to Hotaru, who seemed to feel the same way as Mikan.

-

-

-

_Sinking, but floating?_

_And then something appears._

_Familiarity,_

_I wonder where?_

_Hello, hello…_

_Where have I met you?_

_Will you play with me?_

_And we'll be true friends…_

…_Forever…?_

-

-

-

"Hmmm…" The strange girl walked to the front of the room, her eyes darting around the room, looking for something very quickly, but checking the faces thoroughly.

"Ahhh," she smiled, apparently satisfied. "Fooound them," she sang, but no one could tell who she was looking at.

"…" Anna, Nonoko and Misaki stared, their eyebrows furrowing, deep in thought. The girl noticed them and smiled, and waved.

"…" Nonoko tilted her head to one side, pondering.

"Ah, T—" Narumi began, but he was cut off.

"No hints," the girl said. "They'll realize soon enough." She smiled. She started playing with the frilly red tank top she was wearing, and dusted some dirt off her faded blue jeans.

"…" _Who…? _Mikan thought, and she closed her eyes to concentrate. _Something with a T…Tatsu-san? No, I haven't talked to her in a few years…Tooru-kun? Not him…he's in Europe right now...Tatsuko-chan? No, their eye colours are different…Taniyama…?_

Mikan froze. Taniyama? Although the person she had been thinking of was named Sayuri Taniyama, the last name definitely rang a bell.

No. It couldn't be possible. She had known this for years, and plus the hair colours were different.

"Guessing won't hurt, you know…" the girl murmured, looking straight at the wall.

The brunette glanced at Hotaru, who seemed to have noticed something, also.

"Frozen…" the inventor whispered, the word escaping her lips before she could stop it.

"Butterfly…?" the brunette finished, her voice also lowered to a whisper.

Misaki, Anna and Nonoko looked at their leader and the genius inventor with shock.

"You know it's not possible," Misaki told them, looking at the new girl in front of the room once again. "…Right?"

"…" Hotaru did look a bit doubtful, but Mikan shook her head.

"No…I…I-I'm sure…"

She rose from her seat, cautiously, slowly, walking up to the golden-eyed girl, who smiled. She took off her shirt, revealing the yellow camisole under. The brunette tugged on the back a little, revealing a mark a bit above the middle of the girl's back.

A scar, red although it was fully healed, in the shape of a realistic-looking and very detailed butterfly.

The members of Frozen Sakura gasped, tears welling up in Nonoko's eyes. "No…" she said, her voice high-pitched. "She…we saw…in the…blood…"

The rest of the class looked confused. Natsume glanced at Ruka, who shrugged, looking a bit worried. Tsubasa raised an eyebrow, Koko just looked confused, and Yuu looked more worried.

"Yeah, well, I have a few things to say about that. And questions to ask." The girl said, jamming back on her red shirt. "Has the AAO come after you at all?"

Hotaru nodded stiffly, still in a bit of shock.

"We dealt with that though…" Mikan said, her voice a bit dreamy.

"Shit," the blue-haired girl cursed. "Alright. We need to talk."

"So," Natsume said, his voice a bit annoyed. "Who is she?"

The girl smiled a bit mischievously. "Matsuri Cho Taniyama. Previous leader of a gang called Frozen Butterfly. Thought to be murdered, and a whole lot of complicated crap I'm going to explain to…well, you'd technically be my ex-gang?"

"Whoa, what?!" Tsubasa shouted. "What the fuck?!"

"Didn't you…?" Yuu said quietly, eyes big and round. "…How…?"

Matsuri sighed. "Listen, I gotta run, so I'll explain later. Starvin' like hell. Being on run form the AAO takes a lot outta ya. When do you guys have break?"

"…Two…two periods from now…" Anna managed to say, and Matsuri smiled.

"Great. See you guys then."

And she disappeared out the window, leaving five girls in shock.

-

-

-

_Sinking and sinking…_

_Deeper and deeper…_

_Into a dark pit…_

_Of nothing but lies._

_-_

_-_

_-_

**Writer's Notes: **Finally. Jeez. That was a lot harder to write than it should have been. Sorry. D;

It's short, so sorry about that too…

Umm…yeah. So Matsuri is alive? And Yomi's on the verge of dying? Urgh. -

And a bunch of other things to be explained. O:


	19. Chess Game

**Writer's Notes: **HELL YESSSS. Finally. Microsoft Word after FOREVARRRR.

-bliss-

Can finally write and update!

-

-

-

-

_Tears of crystal…_

_And tears of glass…_

_And who…_

_Do they belong to?_

_The real jewel that falls_

_From those desperate feelings,_

_Or the imitation that falls_

_From the lies and deception…_

_-_

_-_

_-_

_-_

Frozen Butterfly's beloved leader did return two periods later, at their break time. The girls sat outside in a circle, baskets of food spread out. Hellfire was not present for some odd reason, even though they said they would be there. Either way, the girls were too happy at Matsuri's return to care.

"Fanksh, you guysh…" Matsuri mumbled as she stuffed her mouth with sandwiches.

"Jeez! You haven't changed!" Anna said, as she bit more politely into her own sandwich. "Forgetting your money to go to a restaurant…"

"Three more seconds and she's going to choke…" Hotaru said, scooping out her favorite crab brains from a jar.

_Cough! Cough!_

Mikan giggled as she watched Matsuri's face turn a bit blue and she swallowed the mound of food in her mouth.

"That's mean, Mikan," Matsuri said as she coughed some more. "You could've helped me. Hit my back or something."

The brunette shook her head and held up her hands. "Happens too often. And if you've already died, what can choking do to you?"

The golden-eyed girl was fitting in so…normally. As if her absence from all the years made no difference. However, with Mikan's joke, the conversation took a more serious turn.

"It's time you explain, Matsuri." Hotaru said firmly.

Frozen Butterfly's ex-leader sighed and put down the seventeenth sandwich she was going to devour.

"I think you guys already know about Yomi?" she said, and everyone nodded. "She's the AAO's daughter. And you probably learned that she poisoned the cakes she fed us?"

Mikan nodded a second time.

"That's what caused me to appear dead. Yomi's a poison specialist. She planned to kill me first, then go after you guys. One of the poisons didn't react too well to my body for a...clean…appearance. So I spit up a bunch of blood. The poison caused my heart to stop for a while, and that's probably where you guys came in to check on me. But later, somehow, I managed to survive…"

Hotaru stared. Odd. Something…seemed...odd.

"I dunno if the poison was too weak or I was stronger. But either way, it did do a bunch of damage. I spend most of the time I was missing in the hospital. My information was concealed, of course. I didn't want her coming after me again. The other parts I was tracking you guys down."

Nonoko and Misaki laughed. "GLAD YOU'RE BACK!!!" they screamed, and tackled her. Anna and Mikan joined in, while Hotaru just laughed.

Up a story in the school, Hellfire watched and listened.

"I wonder…was Yomi seriously trying to kill her? She said if the poison was weak…but then again, from what we know Matsuri's one strong chick, right?" Koko said.

Natsume focused his crimson eyes on the dark blue haired girl, and then walked away.

"Ah, Natsume?!" Ruka called.

"…" the male leader said nothing but continue to walk until he reached the hospital wing of the school.

"Yomi's really going through with this, isn't she?"

"Yeah. We've got to help her the best we can. Plus we're hated anyway, so it doesn't really matter…"

"But still…Yomi's—"

"SHHHH!!!"

"What?"

"Someone's outside. Show yourself!!" the female voice snapped.

Natsume stepped into the room, seeing two of Yomi's workers awake, leaning limply back on several pillows, arms and legs bandaged, a few band-aids on their bruised faces, their hair in disarray and matted down. He struggled to remember their names, eventually coming to Yuuki and Kuri.

"….Natsume Hyuuga." Kuri hissed, her yellow eyes narrowing a bit. He could see her eyes were wary despite her tough front, also slightly relieved that it was only him and not a whole gang.

"So, Yomi's going through with what?" the crimson-eyed fire caster said, rising an eyebrow.

"None of your business." Yuuki snapped, her blue-grey eyes narrowing, too. "There isn't a reason you should know, either."

Natsume shrugged and leaned against the wall near the door.

"Whatever. Anyway, I've a few questions to ask."

Yuuki's eyes narrowed even more. "What makes you think we'll answer?"

The fire cast narrowed his own eyes and lit a large fireball in his right hand, fully prepared to hurl it at the two girls. The flame sent out a few sparks, the fire a ruby red, showing that it was not just a normal-level fireball.

"You are in no condition to even move an arm. Unable to dodge, I wonder if this attack could kill you?"

Kuri glared at him before closing her eyes, her chestnut colored hair shielding one side of her face. "You sadistic bastard," she mumbled loudly, fully intending to be heard.

Natsume distinguished his fire, taking her insult as defeat. "You know that cosplay woman the best, don't you?"

"…Childhood friends," Yuuki told him, blowing her silvery hair out of her face, the opposite of Kuri's action. "We all grew up together. Went to the same schools most of the time. Lived at an okay distance from each other."

"Then tell me…what did she study?"

Yuuki looked confused. "Study as in school? The normal math, language arts, science…"

Natsume sighed, waited and then looked at Kuri expectantly.

She scowled.

"She did study the regular courses in school. However, she studied combat and poison on her own time. Poison was…her main point, I suppose. Her specialty."

"…" Natsume did not comment. Her words confirmed that Yomi was a poison specialist.

"…You guys are a gang." The fire caster said. It wasn't a question.

"…" The two girls stared at him, eyebrows raised, giving him an expression that clearly said, _Are you completely stupid?!_

"That much is obvious, captain genius." Yuuki told him.

"So," he continued, ignoring Yuuki as if he did not speak. "You have a name, don't you?"

The two maids froze for a minute, and the chestnut-haired girl scowled again.

"What are you getting at?" Yuuki demanded, her eyes flashing with anger.

Natsume said nothing, but just stared, lighting a fire in his hand. "Tell me."

"…"

They hesitated, the silence growing more and more dangerous by the minute.

"I'm waiting…"

The fire-caster's voice was malicious.

"B-B…" Yuuki began, stammering and gulping nervously.

"…Bloodred Moon." Kuri told him, her voice quiet. "That's what we used to be."

…_Used to be? _

"But you're still a gang. What do you mean by used to be?"

"…B-Bloodred M-Moon is part of our past. Although we may still be together, that name…is not part of us anymore." The silver-haired girl told him, her voice small and weak.

"…"

"Alright! You've been talking enough!!" a strong voice said. A stout nurse walked into the room, ushering Natsume away.

"They are still recovering!! Enough talking! Come back another time!!" She waved her hands, and the crimson-eyed boy ducked one flail aimed for his face. He gave the nurse a glare and left.

The nurse closed the door and sighed, slowly morphing into a taller, younger woman with blonde hair and exhausted and pained brown eyes.

"Thanks, Misa." Yuuki said gratefully, her voice nearly inaudible.

"No problem. Good thing Yomi's given us so many Alice stones…Ow…"

Misa snapped her fingers, and the girl lying in the bed next to Kuri's disappeared as the illusion Alice faded. She crawled in, a little blood starting to seep out as she carefully lay down.

"Aw, crud…the nurses are gonna go ballistic when they see this..."

"You really shouldn't have done that…it's a miracle you didn't die when you used three Alice stones…" Kuri scolded, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Everyone was basically family, like sisters. The thought of anyone of them dying was a thought no one dared to think of.

Misa smiled sheepishly, hiding a transformation stone, a teleportation stone and an illusion Alice stone under the bed.

"I felt…slightly better, and we're so used to the teleportation Alice so I didn't think it would be too bad to teleport just outside the room…and you have to admit, it was getting dangerous. There's a limit to what we can tell him…for now."

"But the illusion and transformation Alice?" Yuuki said. "We rarely use those. I mean, look at you! I can't believe you actually managed to move your arms like that with your bones just starting to heal!!"

More blood was starting to soak the white bandages, a several drops splattering onto the shiny floor.

"…I don't think…_she _snapped the bones in my arm…cracked, maybe….oh wait, the healing Alice stone…I think it dissolved back into my body again…Ow! But still…shit…I really should have planned this out better…"

"I'll say…" Kuri rang the bell resting on the desk next to her.

A nurse immediately ran in with fresh bandages along with all sorts of medicine.

"Was it really okay for him to know all that?" The blonde haired girl asked, watching the nurse bandage her newly opened wounds.

"He doesn't think it's important. He'll do research, obviously…" Kuri was saying, her voice growing thick with sleep. "But…he…probably…won't find…the depths…"

She trailed off, her voice replaced by the sound of soft breathing.

Yuuki giggled lightly. "Kuri gets the least sleep…"

"Ah, thank you. And yes, I'm sorry…I won't do it again," Misa was saying to the nurse, smiling sheepishly again.

The nurse glared her warningly before leaving.

"…"

"…"

"…I wonder…which chess piece will be played next?" Yuuki whispered, looking at the rest of the sleeping maids. Sumi, Kana, Miki, and Ami were still knocked out, by they seemed…slightly better. Yuuki's eyed filled up with a few tears as she watched Yomi. Her condition did not seem better; worse, if anything.

"…Whichever piece she wants." Misa responded dully. "We're on her board, so she can play us however she wants. Sacrifice any of us how she wants. Attempt to kill us however she wants and succeed this time…"

"…" The two conscious girls shivered, later lapsing into a deep sleep.

Hopefully they recovered enough by the time the owner of the board continued to play.

-

-

-

_So here I am,_

_Both the angel and the demon._

_My board,_

_My pieces,_

_My game…_

_And soon to be_

_My win._

_-_

_-_

_-_

**Author's End Notes: **Damn this took forever to write. I was on a roll yesterday when I wrote the majority of this chapter. Then I crashed. Demons of sleep are pretty hard to fight off when you're tired and there's a bed right next to you.

…And warm blankets….since it's wintertime where I live…

But yeah, this one was basically about the maids. Well, three of them. The other four are still unconscious. And Yomi. D: A few hints were given in this chapter. o:

It's probably missing a few things, because somehow all the parts of this chapter is/was written when I was dead tired/sleepy. Most of my day is consumed by homework.

Gah. Evil crappy papers. D:


	20. Out of the Dead and Return to the Living

**Writer's Notes: **Chapter 20…longest fanfiction I've written so far. O_O

My God, it's been forever since I last updated...I'm so sorry!! D:

-

-

-

_Do you think you can just leave things unfinished? _

_I am a coward._

_That you are. You think you can just run away from it all, once you've come so far?_

_Yes. And I did._

_Will you continue like this forever? In her shadow? _

_I always have been…it doesn't matter now…_

_And you're running away without telling them anything. You will drag them down because of your hesitation. You know her the best._

_It hurts…_

_Then when you recover, get the HELL UP AND FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED!_

_-_

_-_

_-_

Sumi and Ami had become conscious at this point, extremely weak but slowly regaining their strength as days went by.

Kuri began sleeping for long periods of time, nothing dangerous, the nurse said, just the sleep she missed finally hitting her.

Yomi's condition did not change. She did not get better, but her condition did not worsen. Perhaps it was a sign she was recovering?

-

-

"Bloodred Moon…" Natsume muttered.

He was sitting in his room, waiting for his computer to start up. Yuuki had hesitated to say the name 'Bloodred Moon'. Kuri said it with her voice full of something that seemed like bitterness.

He heard laughing, and pushed aside the curtains in his room. Mikan and the rest of Frozen Sakura, Matsuri included, were chatting happily. It looked…so normal.

Suddenly, Matsuri turned, her eyes narrowed.

"What's up?" Mikan asked, looking in the same direction.

"…Nothing…" the ex-leader replied, turning back slowly. "Just thought I felt something…on the run, ya know, gotta be careful."

But Natsume did not miss the murderous glint in her eyes, and the direction she had turned in was the infirmary in which Yomi and the rest of her friend were staying.

The fire caster began type on his computer. He opened up Google and typed in "Bloodred Moon". Scrolling down, he 'tched' as he saw all the useless links to what a red moon was, some fairs, and other random information. Probably too vague; he tried the Alice system, which was a private Google-type website for people possessing Alices.

_Password: _The screen flashed.

_Rabbits Currency _Natsume typed in. It was simple, really, only people who had attended this school knew that they used a separate currency here, and thus only an Alice could know the password to get into the private system.

Typing in 'Bloodred Moon' again, he got a few results that seemed to hold the information he wanted. There were fourteen articles total, thirteen of them locked. All the passwords the fire-caster entered were denied; even with his hacking skills, the program was, surprisingly, something he'd never seen before.

The single unlocked article only contained a few lines on Bloodred Moon.

"_This blood-stained gang broke up a few days after that incident. No one was sad to see it happen, although they hope for her survival, and encourage her on her mission."_

Angry he couldn't get far, he shut down his computer.

Bloody past. Well, okay, he figured something like that from their name. And did 'her' refer to Yomi? Most likely, but what mission? To kill Matsuri? For what? Why?

Nothing was new was answered, these were the same questions. Yomi was part of the AAO, and the AAO always wanted to capture Alices. Mystery solved.

His mind flashed back to the day there were in the hospital, and Yomi left Mikan a note. The hidden message was "Don't let her deceive you", which most likely meant Matsuri.

But why? Why would Matsuri deceive her gang?

Well, Natsume was never one to beat around the bush…

-

-

-

"Who are you?"

Frozen Sakura turned to look at Hellfire's leader, as Matsuri raised an eyebrow. "Didn't ya listen when I first introduced myself?"

"That's not what I mean."

"Well, that's all I have to say about myself…so unless you wanna know about my family or something…"

Turning to Frozen Sakura, he narrowed his eyes. "'Don't let her deceive you.' Don't you remember that?"

"But…it doesn't make any sense…why Matsuri?" Nonoko asked, her expression confused.

"Well, it doesn't make any sense if you're directing it at the wrong person…" The golden-eyed girl said.

"What do you mean?"

"It's 'cause I wrote it. It didn't get to you in time, though…you were deceived by Yomi anyway."

"But…the way the message was hidden…" Mikan trailed off.

"Yeah, I know, what Yomi used, right? I didn't really know how else to hide the message, so I used her method. " Matsuri shrugged.

"And the 'I'm sorry, please understand," meant what?" The fire caster said, slightly irritated.

"Lord, are you that thick? 'I'm sorry I can't see you, please understand that I am alive and need to be in hiding. Don't let Yomi trick you.' There you go, the complete message. If you need further elaboration, I couldn't write all of that in case the message was intercepted by someone after me, or Yomi herself."

Matsuri looked irritated as well.

"Do I need to talk some more to clear that suspicion you hold against me?" she snapped.

The two glared at each other, before Hellfire's leader stormed away.

"Jeez. What an ass," Matsuri said, turning back to her friends.

"Haha…don't mind it too much, that's how he is," Mikan laughed nervously.

Her ex-leader pouted, and angrily pulled up some grass.

Hotaru remained as unemotional as the rest of her gang lapsed into another conversation with Matsuri that she did not want to take part in.

-

-

-

Night fell, and the students retired to their rooms to sleep.

Natsume had no more luck in unlocking those articles on Bloodred Moon, so he had decided to sleep as well.

The crickets chirped as the crimson-eyed teen tossed and turned, restless and unable to have a peaceful sleep as usual. Eyes flying open from a nightmare, he woke just in time to see a flash of silver in the moonlight.

Groggy and unable to react quickly enough, the object sank into his shoulder. He let out a yelp of pain, then grit his teeth and lit a fireball, which he wildly ground into his attacker's skin.

The attacker made no noise, but as he pulled the object out of Natsume's shoulder, he slashed the arm the fireball had been lit in and elbowed Natsume in the stomach.

He went unconscious.

-

-

-

"My God, did you hear? He was attacked in his sleep!"

"Seriously?! That's horrible!"

"He almost died of blood loss…who knows how many hours he lay there…!"

"Thank God Narumi-sensei went to his room…I'll never be annoyed with letting the teachers know if we'll be out of class ever again…"

"Who attacked him?"

"I don't know…the teachers inspected the room, there were no fingerprints or anything…everything was normal, except the fact he was laying there in a pool of blood."

"…What if he slashed himself?"

"How _dare_ you suggest that!!! First of all, there was no weapon in the room! Second, there is no reason to slash yourself that badly and let yourself suffer as you bleed to death!!"

"…I dunno…attention? Suicide, maybe he was so fed up with the school?"

"You're just jealous of Natsume-sama! Plus, he's popular enough, and you know he's never liked that attention! And there's no reason why he would have committed suicide, he has his gang and family!"

"…I dunno…"

As the members of Hellfire passed, the talking quieted, although some were brave enough to approach them and ask the condition of their leader. Tsubasa and Koko looked absolutely livid, so Ruka and Yuu were the ones who answered, reassuring them that Natsume was fine.

Once they were outside and away from students, Ruka's face filled with worry.

"What the hell?" he said, leaning against the side of the school. "Attacking during his sleep was a dirty move…but why would someone attack him?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to murder whoever did…." Tsubasa growled darkly. "Knocking him unconscious and letting him bleed to death like that…"

"Oi, oi, Natsume is still alive," Yuu said, eyes widening a bit. "Don't talk about him like he's dead."

"Think he saw his attacker?" Koko asked, fists balled.

"Don't know…we'll ask him when he wakes up." Ruka replied, shaking his head.

"Hey."

Hellfire jumped, as Mikan appeared suddenly.

"Is Natsume okay? I heard he was attacked in his sleep…"

Ruka could hear the worry in her voice, but her face gave it away anyway.

"He's fine," He reassured her, "He needed a blood transfusion, but he's fine and is sleeping right now."

Sighing with relief, Frozen Sakura's leader tried to lighten the mood a little.

"That's good…I'm sure all the girls crowded the infirmary to have their blood donated to Natsume."

Smiling, Ruka shook his head. "To prevent that from happening, the nurse asked me. I'm O negative, so…"

"Hey, would you look at that, me too!" the brunette exclaimed.

"Mikan! Hurry up!"

Turning, the group saw Anna and Nonoko waving frantically, Hotaru and Misaki waiting patiently.

"Class is about to start!"

"Gotta go," Mikan said, and ran towards her group.

"Hey, Sakura-san?" Ruka called, and she turned. "Tell the teacher's we're not gonna be in class. We're going to be with Natsume."

"Sure thing," Mikan called back, turning again.

"Oh, and Sakura-san?"

Turning yet again, she looked a little annoyed this time.

"…Be careful."

Her expression softened, and she smiled.

"Yup. You guys too."

As Hellfire watched the girls run back to class, Koko looked towards the infirmary windows.

"…He'll be fine, right? Think someone will go back and finish him off?"

"Dude, don't say that!" Yuu said, eyes widening again.

"Back luck, man, knock on wood," Tsubasa agreed, and hit a nearby tree with his knuckles a few times.

"But he'll be fine," Yuu repeated, "The hospital wings is the most guarded at night, no one can get in unless the nurse lets you in. And no one would dare attack him in broad daylight, there's people everywhere."

Ruka nodded, and began walking. "Good. Let's go see if he's awake, then."

-

-

-

"Nice of you to drop in," Yuuki commented, a little mischief in her voice.

As the crimson-eyed teen struggled to consciousness, he took in his surroundings.

"Where…?"

"Hospital wing. You were attacked in your sleep, remember?" Yuuki filled him in.

"…"

Last night's events flooded back to him, and he grimaced as he tried to move his arm.

"You're going to have to stay here for a while; whoever attacked you didn't exactly go easy on you," Misa told him.

"Who…" Natsume thought out loud, mumbling.

"No clue," Yuuki shrugged. "Remember anything? Male, female? Hair color? Voice?"

"Nothing. It was too dark, and whoever it was didn't make a sound. Might have worn a hat to keep his or her hair out of the way."

The fire-caster was irritated, he hated not knowing things.

"…What the hell was Bloodred Moon?" Natsume shot at the silver-haired girl.

Misa, who had been lying down on her bed, suddenly shot up, a knife in her hand, her eyes narrowed and boiling with rage.

"You dare?" She hissed. "You dare speak of that name, reminding us of that _traitor_?!"

Natsume merely raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?"

"Misa," Yuuki said weakly. "No. Stop.

"Why, are you scared? Ashamed?" Misa was seriously angry, her body trembling from anger. "Why can't we tell him? I think it's about time everything is cleared up, and they know who they actually need to go against."

"Kuri is second in command while Yomi is unconscious! And Kuri didn't want to tell him, and Yomi wouldn't want—"

"….No…they…w-will a-act soon…t-tell him…h-he needs…to know…"

Yuuki and Misa gasped, shock on their faces. The brown-eyed girl dropped the knife and began crying.

Smiling and tears running down her cheeks, Yuuki sniffed.

"Welcome back to the land of the living…"

-

-

-

-

**Writer's End Notes: **You know what that means, don't you? _Finally._

So yeah…I managed to squeeze out this crappily written chapter from my brain. It's more like a rough draft, I think…I could probably make it better and less…choppy, but my stupid head is not providing the magical flowing words. D:

I think I need to stop stalling and get on with it since I can't think of any more filler chapters that are relatively interesting and related to the plot and won't give away too much.

Sorry for not updating for so long…my fanfictioning skills are dying. xP

**BY THE WAY, DOES ANYONE KNOW YOMI'S AGE? **I don't remember if I wrote it in a chapter or anything….or it might have been in the chapter that didn't save and was half-deleted…I can't find it in the chapters, or I just keeping skipping over it since I'm so blind. x____x

_**If anyone does know her age and where I wrote it please let me know!! **_


	21. Behind the Bloodred Moon

**Writer's Notes: **Woohoo, chapter 21! After…what, half a year? My last update was 7/2/09…Man I suck. I know, I know, I'm sorry. DD: My inspiration fails me and school consumes a lot of my time.

Yomi's 23 as of now. Because I don't think I wrote her age…or if I did no one remembers, haha. The maids are…21 as of now. I just include so many details when I write, right? -.-

And as I failed to update and got older…this story is full of so many plotholes and things that don't make sense, which I tried to cover up crappily that…it's like a patchwork spiderweb. =/

I apologize for my epic failness in not updating and my gaping plotholes that I tried to cover crappily which just make it confusing and…crappy.

* * *

"_We'll be together forever, right?"_

"_Of course!" _

___. : . : ._  


"_Ugh, you're always better than me…"_

"_Hey now, don't say that. You just need to practice a bit. Here, I'll teach you."_

"_Hmph. One day, I'm going to be stronger than you are, so you have to fight me then!"_

"_Haha, I'll be stronger then too, you know!"_

"_Umm…then when I get strong, we'll spar, and you can tell me how well I did!"_

"_Hahaha, fine, a deal! Expect no mercy from me, though! I'm not ready to be beaten yet!"_

"_Hehe, yup!"_

_. : . : .  
_

"_You're the only one I trust my back with, you know?"_

"_Of course, same goes for you!" _

_. : . : .  
_

"_TRAITOR! TRAITOR! HOW COULD YOU? WHY? I THOUGHT—"_

"_That we'd be together forever? It's time to let go of those childish dreams. This is reality, people change. I can't hold your hand forever."_

"_Y-You…"_

"_Well, try your best. Come after me in the future, if you can find me."_

"_O-Our…promise…"_

"_What promise? Sorry, I don't hold onto those petty promises children seal with pinkies. Well, this is my last message for you: Grow up." _

"_Ugh…traitor…I'll never forgive you, you…you…TRAITOOORRRR!" _

* * *

"Yomi?"

The sound of her name brought her back to the present.

"S-sorry…I just…"

"No, rest before you explain," Yuuki insisted. "The rest of us are doing fine, but you still have most of your injuries."

Smiling weakly, Yomi shook her head.

"Not…enough time…I've slept…way too long…"

"No, sleep." Natsume told her, and glared at Yuuki and Misa who were looking at him with their eyebrows raised. "You're too weak and we can't have you dying. The rest of my gang is coming and so are the nurses, and I don't think the news of your awakening should spread so fast in case it gets to…her ears. You're not in any condition to answer many questions either."

Giggling, Yuuki looked at the fire caster.

"I didn't know the famous Natsume Hyuuga could be so soft and caring."

"Shut up," he growled, sending her another glare.

"Or what, you're going to light me on fire? You're in no condition to do so, and the nurses had you swallow an Alice Prevention powder so you couldn't anyway."

So all Natsume could do was give her the strongest death glare he could muster.

Misa laughed, her eyes glinting. "Meow, meow, little kitty, what's wrong? The mice are right in front of you."

"Oi, oi, there, don't push your luck," Tsubasa snapped, the rest of Hellfire stepping through the doors.

"Please, we beat you once, why not again?" the brown-eyed girl sneered.

"You only won because of the effects of the poison you fed us," Tsubasa snapped back.

"How stupid can you be, to not notice after all that time?" Yuuki joined in, and Tsubasa glared at the two girls, who glared back.

_Geh. _Natsume thought. He knew the reason for their hostility was to not raise suspicion, in case anything got around that they were being friendly. The fact Yomi was awake needed to be kept a secret for now.

But still, how could they not notice?

Well, simple, Yomi was better.

…the great Natsume Hyuuga hated being outmatched.

* * *

"…"

Hotaru watched the scene in front of her, the rest of her gang members playing a childish game of tag.

Everything had been so…normal after Matsuri returned to them.

No missions or anything.

The rest of SAGA was obviously enjoying this freedom, laughing and being carefree as they were.

She felt a presence, and sighed.

"Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear. What do you need?"

Persona, leaning against the side of the building and hidden by the shadows, smiled.

"Retrieve a shipment of Alice preventers."

Raising an eyebrow, Hotaru looked a little surprised. "That's it?"

"Defense mission. We can't have anyone finding out what we are, can we? Someone is obviously going to go through them, so we have to get it before they do. A man named Sou Yamano will be waiting for you. He's an Alice. About a day's worth of travel west of here."

The amethyst eyed inventor nodded, and walked forward to inform the rest of her gang.

"Mission." She said flatly, and Mikan stopped running and turned serious.

"Anna, Nonoko, Misaki, you know what to do."

The three girls nodded, separating to get their weapons and usual items.

"You wanna come with us, Matsuri? Like old times?" Mikan smiled, and Matsuri pretended to think about it.

"Well…I don't know…I might be rusty…" she said, raising her voice into a falsetto, "I'm scared…I don't wanna get hurt…"

Laughing, the brunette hit her ex-leader's arm playfully. "Come on. You know you want to."

Matsuri laughed as well. "Hell yes."

"Alright, wait here then will you? Hotaru and I still need to get our stuff. I'll grab some for you too."

"Gotcha."

The two Frozen Sakura members separated as well, leaving Matsuri standing alone.

* * *

"Okay guys, ready?" Mikan called, and her gang chorused back a 'yes'.

"Hm? Not wearing your kamikaze coats?" Matsuri asked, tilting her head to one side.

They all looked completely casual, jeans and darker colored tops, as if they were going to hang out at the mall or something.

"Too noticeable," the leader explained, "Since it's just a retrieving mission, we're not looking to let them know who we are."

Grinning, Matsuri observed her ex-gang members. "Hot." She said, and her grin widened. "Well, let's go. Lead the way, Mikan-chan."

Giggling, the leader began walking towards the gates.

"Oh…couldn't you just use a teleportation Alice?" Matsuri wondered, and the gang members looked at each other.

"Too easy!" they all laughed, and began running.

"I trained them well," the ex-leader said, smiling. "They're so much fun."

And she followed her ex-gang, catching up to them easily as they continued their mission.

* * *

Natsume sighed, irritated at the questioning his gang was giving him.

"You didn't see the face?" Ruka inquired, "Or hear the voice?"

"No and no," the fire-caster told him.

"It was definitely a knife," Yuu observed, peeling back his leader's bandages a little. "Really sharp. And yeah, whoever it was didn't go easy on you…but…"

His eyebrows wrinkled, as he thought.

"What's up?" Tsubasa said, munching on some pocky.

"Well…no offense to Natsume-sama, but they could have just stabbed you through the heart or something and killed you right there and then," Yuu said nervously.

"Oh, thanks," Natsume snorted.

"But they didn't," Yuu pointed out, "Which probably meant that it didn't matter if you were dead or alive. Or they just wanted you out of the way for the time being."

Someone yawned, and everyone turned to the source of the sound. It was Kuri, stretching out her arms as she awoke from her sleep. Her eyes were half-opened, mouth hanging open a bit as well. She yawned again and looked around.

"Nnng…Hellfire…?" she questioned, rubbing her eyes.

"Morning, Kuri. You sleep like the dead," Misa said. Suddenly her eyes brightened. "Hell, Kuri has the sound Alice. Let's just get this over with."

Natsume rolled his eyes. "Impatient, aren't we."

Misa made some angry noise, and turned to Kuri again.

"Sound barrier, if you please."

More awake now, the girl yawned and closed her eyes, glowing for a few minutes. Her eyebrows twitched, and she looked in pain for a bit, but she did manage to put up a sound barrier. "Ugh. Not fully recovered yet," she said, and made sure her Alice was working properly. She nodded, and Misa smiled.

"Well, straight to the point, Yomi's awake."

Eyes flicked to Yomi, who opened her eyes. At this point, Kana and Suki stirred, opening their own eyes, rising slowly, a hand pressing their heads, mumbling they'd slept too much. Yuuki smiled nervously and waved hello, welcoming them back from dreamland.

"They are not enemies," Natsume stated flatly, as his members started forward, seeing the number of their opponents rise. "Listen."

"My…plan didn't work." Yomi whispered. "I…nearly caused the death of us all…"

"We're alive," Misa snapped, "And we came of our own free will, you didn't cause anything."

"She was…must stronger than I had imagined…she was always stronger…but I'd never thought…." Yomi trailed off. Closing her eyes, there was a pause. "Natsume Hyuuga…you wanted to know of…Bloodred Moon."

Misa let out an angry noise. Kana and Suki froze, still registering the situation. Yuuki shook, biting her lip.

"How much did you manage to find?" she continued, aware of her members' reactions.

"One article, with one line. '_This blood-stained gang broke up a few days after that incident. No one was sad to see it happen, although they hope for her survival, and encourage her on her mission.'" _He repeated. "All the other articles were locked. With an unknown program."

His gang looked surprised.

Yomi smiled, getting up slowly, wincing. "I need to heal faster…" she mumbled, propping herself up, leaning on pillows. "They protected that information well. It's a pretty bloody history."

"Amuse us," Tsubasa said, sitting down on the floor. He was obviously confident there was nothing he couldn't stomach.

"Bloodred Moon didn't just get its name because it sounded cool. And it wasn't just a collection of friends."

Koko raised an eyebrow. "But…you were all in that gang, right? Aren't you all friends now?"

"Now, of course. We were the ones that wanted out after a few years," Yuuki whispered.

Kuri and Kana looked at each other before cringing, grimaces on their faces. Suki just looked blank. "So…we're telling them now?" she said flatly.

"There's….no time," Yomi told her. "You know that."

"And we deserve to know, so spill," Tsubasa snapped.

"You are _such_ an insensitive bastard," Suki snapped back, eyes flaring, sitting up rapidly. "Did any of you ever realize that this wasn't the best moment of our lives? Maybe it's a really painful subject for us to talk about, 'cause we're digging out these fucking memories from the deepest pits of our hearts. But no, because _you_ want to know, so nothing else fucking matters, does it? No, of course not. Yomi decided to spill the story already, so close your fucking mouth, listen, and wait while we cry over how crappy our lives were back then, because you're going to know anyway. If you saw a crying little girl, would you pitch her over a bridge and throw her into the river and let her drown? No, if you weren't an insensitive asshole you'd probably comfort her, so since we don't need or want to be comforted, shut the hell up, read the goddamn atmosphere, and show some damn respect!"

Hellfire blinked, since Suki was usually the sweetest out of all of them. Glaring at them, she crossed her arms and averted her gaze elsewhere.

There was a silence before anyone spoke again.

"We were…probably 15 when we actually joined Bloodred Moon. It was simple at first…troubled teen meetings. But then, we discovered we had Alices. And then, that made us special. The people we hated, the people that abandoned us….the beginning was simple pranks with water Alices, or spreading rumors with mind-reading Alices." Yomi said, looking at her hands.

"You can see where this is going," Kuri said hollowly, and Ruka looked down at his hands.

"So things got a bit more…dangerous. Until finally, one girl died. One of our members drowned her with her water Alice. No one suspected her, since no one knew she had an Alice. She was the weak corner girl, why should they? But instead of being horrified she'd just taken someone's life, she had been ecstatic. The girl would never pick on her again, never give her anymore bruises. She'd drowned her purposely."

"Her name was Miyuki. Miyuki Ashibata." Kana said, but Hellfire had never heard of her, unsure of what to think with this piece of information.

"There was a second girl. Tatsuki Banri. Her brother had committed suicide after his 'friend' got him into drugs; his addiction was _bad_. And he was going crazy, losing his grip on reality. And that 'friend' laughed at it all. So Tatsuki went after him with a death Alice. And she was happy to get revenge."

Misa was staring at the ceiling. She could remember those girls very well.

"And everyone gathered. We all had problems, and worst of all, most of us had rare Alices. Most of us could be classified into the Dangerous Type. I was co-leader. We all decided on Bloodred Moon…nightmares that only came out when the moon did, dyeing dreams with blood. As we got older, things got much too extreme. Being famous got to our heads. Being special got to our brains. Stupid ideas took over our bodies and we acted on them."

Yuuki's lip was bleeding now, but she didn't stop biting down on it.

Yomi paused, and Misa looked over.

"Our first major act was crashing a wedding." Misa continued. "We _did_ tell you Bloodred Moon was not a happy group of friends, right? 'Cause we obviously didn't just crash the wedding. The groom was someone who had tried to rape one of our members, Ayano Fukuyama. His girlfriend was in on a plan to ruin her. She was a pretty girl, a wonderful student, and a good natured personality, and she had liked the other girl's boyfriend. Stupid people do stupid things…so the girlfriend took pictures of the incident, blew them up, and posted it all over the walls of the school. Of course no one saw the guy or her terrified face, only her and her body. So everyone thought she was some slutty whore. It was bad."

Yuu's face was turning into sympathetic expression.

"So we crashed their wedding. No one recognized us, we wore masks. But was a bloodbath. Ayano was laughing…she went up to the bride and groom, lifted her mask, and said, 'Remember me, motherfuckers? The happiest day of your life is about to become your worst nightmare.' It took a minute, but they recognized her. Their wedding turned into a bloody massacre."

Hellfire looked completely and utterly shocked, horrified, and disgusted. Yuuki was silently crying now, and the twins had closed their eyes, shaking their heads.

"Are you amused now?" Misa said, looking at Tsubasa who looked…sick. "You definitely underestimated what Bloodred Moon was, didn't you?"

"If that wedding massacre was bad…you can imagine what the rest was like as we got more and more…corrupted." Suki said, her voice depressed and hollow.

"Bloodred Moon was…a nightmare, essentially." Yomi said, shaking her head. "Before you throw up, I think we'll skip the rest of our…group activities. But eventually, some of us wanted out. Things were getting seriously twisted. Eventually, it came to be that if someone looked at us funny, they would never see again. Some of us didn't want to drown in blood…and we watched our members just begin senseless murder."

"We wanted out…" Kana said hoarsely, "Bloodred Moon wasn't even a gang anymore…it was just…a murder group."

"You can guess who those members were. But no way were they going to just let us leave peacefully. Eight members of their group, all at once? No way. The leader wouldn't allow it. But we beat them down…drew more blood…but we didn't kill them. We ran. Three months later, we learned the leader had gotten into some deep Alice shit. She joined the AAO, but….they turned bloody with her in their group. It was like Bloodred Moon all over again, numbers hundredfold. The rest of the original group disbanded; everything had gone downhill for them after we left…and we decided we would put an end to the bloodshed." Yomi said. "In that article, they would be talking about us, the eight that left Bloodred Moon, or me specifically. People were still bitter. Oh so bitter….we were hated. But with our old uniforms and masks, we announced we would be putting an end to this. We would be hunting down remaining members, and…defeat….our leader. We were nearly killed ourselves for appearing again by those who wanted revenge….we also sent the city into a state of incredible terror. But we teleported."

Looking at Natsume, she started straight into his eyes. "That was the history of Bloodred Moon. We're not proud. We'd prefer to erase it. But we're still on that mission."

"All our ex-members are went to jail. A specific jail for Alices, for lack of better wording. They all turned wrong, they couldn't get out. So we put them in jail…and they died there. Miyuki was a serial killer. Tatsuki did a few more massacres before we got her. They're free from the corruption now…or still mad in hell." Suki said. She took a big breath, and all the conscious members looked at each other.

"The leader is still active." Kuri said, looking down.

Natsume looked at Yomi, who opened her mouth to speak.

"The leader of Bloodred Moon..and executive officer of the AAO…is my sister, Matsuri Cho Taniyama."

* * *

**Writer's Ending Notes: **Plot twist? Although some people had actually predicted it already...

Well…yeah. I dunno what I'm going to do with the rest of this fanfic…any suggestion of what you want to happen? This is the longest fanfic I've written so far…

Bloodred Moon is pretty…bad. The wedding massacre would just…be one of the most terrible things on earth. Uwah…

Um…yeah. I have nothing more to say other than sorry. D: I dunno when the next chapter will come out, but knowing me, it'll take a while. Sorry, but I don't remember what I wanted to write, so…it's very patchwork-y.


	22. Ignorance

**Writer's Notes: **Meh. D:

I just realized that I know next to nothing about the AAO. Like, what are their intentions, why are they there, why do they go against the Academy if they are Alices themselves? I mean, even if they don't like the Academy's methods, don't they do bad things to Alices, or am I getting confused with the Fanfictioned version?

I'll also be editing some past chapters, I reread a few of them and damn I have some terrible spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. And sometimes I just leave words out by accident. D: And I also need to reformat them since the little dashes I used as dividers disappeared.

Anyway, sorry these ridiculously slow updates. D:

* * *

As expected, a shocked, disbelieving silence filled the room. Hellfire gaped at Yomi, completely at loss for words.

"Your…sister?" Ruka said in a strangled voice.

"B-But…Yomi-san, you're 23, right? And…Matsuri's our age, it's hard to believe she's a…mastermind." Yuu said.

The older woman smiled faintly, "She's not my younger sister," she said, and the room went silent again.

"N-Not your younger…?" Stammered Yuu, eyed wide.

"That's right. Matsuri is my older sister. She's four years older than I am."

"But…how is that possible? She's the same age as Mikan and the others, isn't she? And she looks like a high schooler…!"

"Have I ever told you Matsuri's Alice?"

"Well no, but I think we all assumed it was something dangerous…"

"It's not. Matsuri's Alice is a special-ability type. It's an aging Alice. It lets her change her age as she wants, and if she tries hard enough, other people."

"…That…that's it?"

"Isn't it funny how she's been able to use such a seemingly useless Alice to do what she has?" Yomi let out a humorless laugh. "But her Alice costs her life force, since it changes her anatomy every time she becomes older or younger. I don't know if she's been using it often or not. But if her life's been cut short…" she paused, exhaled. "She might be going offensive because her life force has been cut short."

Hellfire looked at the café owner.

"That monster is your sister," Tsubasa said, with the smallest hint of disbelief in his voice, "And…you worry for her?"

"Tsubasa!" Hissed Yuu, and the blue-haired member's lips tightened into a thin line.

"What? How far does love go? Some Alices were thrown here by parents who thought them freaks. And can you really say you love them after all the rejection they've shown you? Maybe you can, but Matsuri is a murderess mastermind. I find it hard that Yomi-san can still love her after all that she's done," Tsubasa countered calmly. He turned to Yomi, and she sighed.

"That monster is related to me by blood. She broke my limbs, and all my workers' limbs. She was head of a murder group. And now, she's the mind behind what the AAO is doing now. But when she dies, I'll give her a proper funeral, even if I am the only one attending. But I will never forgive her for her sins. Nor my own. At one point she was the sister I so loved, the sister that taught me everything. And that is who I will be burying and crying for."

Another silence passed, until Natsume proposed the one obvious question to break the noiseless atmosphere. "And, how are we going to bring her down? You and your workers are bedridden. So am I. And Ruka, Yuu, Koko, and Tsubasa won't be enough to bring down an entire organization. And neither is SAGA, for that matter."

Yomi nodded. "Mikan and the others are strong. But Matsuri is stronger. Too strong. There's not much you can do…unless you get the entire academy involved."

Yuu's sharp intake of air was heard. "Are you…suggesting a war?"

"What else do you plan to do?" Misa asked. "What else _can_ you do? Hellfire and SAGA put together aren't strong enough. And Matsuri is not going to fight alone."

"She may have a useless Alice for fighting, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have stones or the physical combat abilities," Suki added.

"But we're…bringing the entire Academy into a war," Ruka said softly, looking down at his hands. "This'll be…complete and utter chaos. That time when Mikan was captured…that was already dangerously tense enough."

"And yet if you do nothing, Matsuri will overtake this academy." Misa growled.

"…Has she…strayed from her goal?" Yuu whispered.

"…What?"

"The AAO was initially created because they thought the Academy was wrong. The Academy is like a prison to some. And the AAO believed that Alices should be able to live freely. And only those who are useful to the Academy are allowed to leave campus." He said quietly. "People are scared. Normal people are scared of us for our abnormal powers. Has the AAO strayed, or are they simply using the wrong methods?"

There was a long, thick silence and Tsubasa glanced at his fellow member in slight disbelief.

"You're…suggesting that the AAO might be...good?" Sumi asked lightly.

Another silence.

"The AAO was good once," Kuri sighed. "But that was before I was born."

Yomi looked sad, and she closed her eyes for a moment. "The AAO is also known as Z, for Zero. They were good once, their motto something along the lines of 'for the greater good'. It doesn't make sense of all they do to the Alices, because some are Alices themselves. But now, it's essentially just turned into an all out hostile rivalry between two organizations. Zero, who doesn't like the Academy for their containment of Alices, or what the Academy does behind the scenes. Zero who has gotten confused over the years. The Academy is simply their enemy because they are the opposite. And the Academy, who hates the AAO, because of the things they do to Alices, because of the things they want to accomplish. It's like light and dark, they fight because they are light and dark. But in our case, who is light, and who is dark? It doesn't even matter anymore. It's a born rivalry now. It's in our nature to fight against them now."

Yuu nodded, but looked down at his hands. He had always been kind. Almost too kind. He was not meant to fight a war, but he could and would contribute to it anyway. But he was also beginning to get confused, because what was he fighting for, who was he truly fighting against?

When he looked up, all eyes were trained on him. He sighed. "It's not like I'm going to join the AAO," he said. "It's just…the idea of war…it saddens me. Nothing good ever comes from war. Only bitterness. And hatred. And wars only spawn more wars."

"Maybe the AAO can be considered from a different perspective. But I think we momentarily forgot that Matsuri is in charge now," Misa said, crossing her arms. "And Matsuri is changing some things…and people are following."

Yuu nodded, eyes determined. "I do believe that she must be stopped," he said.

Everyone in the room nodded.

"Oh…" Ruka said, something dawning on him. "I…had a thought. We've been discussing the fact of everyone's participation of…plan. I think the Academy will fight, if they need to. But…concerning SAGA…they were close to Matsuri, weren't they? And they're so happy to have her back. But…how is this…"

"Are they in danger?" Koko asked. "They went on a mission together, didn't they?"

Yuuki shook her head. "I don't think Matsuri would kill them. She probably actually likes them. And they're too valuable to lose. But she'll try and get them on her side."

"Hotaru might believe what we say," Kana said. "But even she was close to Matsuri. They all trained under her first, before she let Mikan back into Frozen Butterfly for bringing in so many new unstable Alices."

"I don't think Mikan and the others will be that easily convinced to join the AAO, though…Her mother was in it. She hated her mother. And she would never turn her back on her morals…"

The group turned at the voices of the newly awakened maid, Miki. She rubbed her eyes wearily.

"Mornin', guys," Miki mumbled, trying to prop herself up. But she gasped in pain and decided to remain lying down.

"Morning," her friends greeted back.

"But then again, it can go either way," Ami said, her voice faint. He had been a bit worse off, holding off on speaking until she needed to. "She might be swayed. She might not be swayed."

"She might believe me after my little play," Yomi mused. "And she might not believe me."

"What was that, anyway? Why couldn't you just have told her?" Koko said, with an almost snappish tone in his voice.

"I said at the time that she wouldn't believe me. You saw how they reacted when I told them Matsuri was full of lies. That was the first stage of denial. And even if they did believe me, they'd go searching for her. I would have to tell them that she was, or is, alive. And then Matsuri would kill them. And everything would speed up. I tried to protect her by hurting her, to see if I could just confront my sister myself and then SAGA would never have to know the truth about their ex-leader. Obviously, that didn't work out so well seeing as I'm here. Familial bonds mean nothing. We're strangers. But the same blood still runs through our veins."

"You're an idiot," Tsubasa said, and Yomi gave another humorless laugh and waved her hand airily.

"I am. Matsuri was always the one that our parents praised."

"Your parents…the AAO president." Natsume remembered.

"He's hard to describe. He loved both of us. And then mother died, by the hands of an Alice. Murdered. And then that twisted everything. He loved us equally, but Matsuri did hold slightly more of a place. Always on top, always so cute and pretty, always the social butterfly. So he's letting her run her course with Zero. I'm not sure how he's doing. He used to get sick very easily. Mother was always the strong one. Maybe he's dead, and that's why Matsuri's leading."

The older woman's look was melancholy and faraway, reminiscing about things that used to be, and that would never be again.

"…How do we know that we can trust you?" the fire-caster said flatly.

"You can't know." Suki said almost immediately. "So you'll just have to decide."

"And if we choose the wrong choice, it's because of our own foolishness," Yuu smiled. The pink-haired girl smiled back, nodding.

"And anyway, you already said we're not your enemies. So you've made your choice. And it's up to the rest of your members to make their own."

There was an exchange of glances, shrugs, and nods.

"We've unanimously decided," Tsubasa announced airily. "Nattchan's the leader."

He received a glare at the uncool nickname.

"And I'm also betting that it was Matsuri who tried to stab you," Yomi added. "Or one of her lackeys. To get rid of you. So you wouldn't be swayed. But you survived."

Natsume let out a sarcastic noise.

"So? How are you going to do this? Do you have everything planned out?" Tsubasa asked.

"Are you going to wait until you've recovered?" Ruka inquired, his voice soft.

"Unfortunately, as much as I'd like to, none of us can move. Or barely, rather. Broken bones take about six weeks to heal for something small. But considering what Matsuri broke isn't anything small, we'll be here for at least a month, to three months or more."

"So it was Matsuri who did this to you," Ruka mused, and Yomi's lips formed a thin line again.

"Er. Well. Yes. Like I said. I thought I could take care of this, with the help of my friends. It's only Matsuri, afterall. We could sneak it pretty well, and my status wouldn't go unnoticed had I presented myself. My father still loves me, afterall. But of course that didn't go right, and I believe I caused more of a commotion rather than to do this in secret."

There was a knock at the door, Koko, Yuu, Tsubasa, and Ruka jumping slightly at the disturbance. A nurse peeked her head partway through the door.

"Excuse me," She said, "But visiting hours are almost over for them. They really need their rest. I'll be back in ten minutes to change the casts and bandages, and if you aren't gone by then we'll be kicking you out." She gave them a threatening glare, ignoring their handsome looks and concentrating on her profession. She closed the door again.

The group stood up, stretching their limbs. "Well. We'll get going then."

"How are we going to break this news to Frozen Sakura now, though?"

"You, of course." Misa said. "We can't move. And we're dead if you bring them here, because Matsuri will be coming with them."

"She won't be leaving her ex-gang alone," Yuuki warned. "Be careful. She's a tricky little bitch. Take as much time as you need, but watch her movements. And watch what you say. Watch your back. Just be on high alert, but don't appear suspicious. Don't look like you know anything we just told you."

"Because she's not just going after Hellfire and SAGA," Kuri growled.

"We're half dead, so she'll naturally want to finish the job," Kana replied in the same fashion. "The hospital ward is tough to break into. But it's doable."

"Shouldn't someone watch you, then?" Ruka asked, eyes widening.

"Too much attention," Suki murmured. "If we do anything, she'll know. We're lucky that she doesn't know we're awake yet."

"Our Alices are a dangerous thing to use right now, so we can't try and force them. Kuri? Are you okay?" Misa asked, eyebrows knitting together in worry.

"I'm fine," said the twin, "But I can't keep it up for much longer. My Alice isn't terribly draining or anything, but it takes concentration…"

And her face was rather pale, eyes beginning to become a little glazed.

"Release it," Yuu said quickly. "We're leaving now."

She obeyed, and the instant all the background noise of the hospital ward came back as the sound barrier was removed, Kuri passed down, lapsing into sleep again.

Misa looked apologetic for making her teammate use her Alice to that extent, and lay down as well, feigning sleep. The other maids followed suit, and the members of Hellfire looked at their leader.

"Get well soon, Natsume." Ruka smiled.

"Yeah, we'll be back soon. With markers to draw on your face," Tsubasa smirked.

"Try it and die," Natsume threatened.

Yuu laughed nervously and Koko laughed outright. They left, not speaking a word to the café members to keep up appearances. They stopped a nurse on their way out, writing down that Yomi and the seven maids' conditions needed to be kept a secret. She nodded and passed the note to a girl who could send messages via telepathy, and the boys took back the note, burning it in the kitchens.

The returned to their dorms, as if nothing had ever happened.

* * *

"This place smells like mold," Misaki whispered, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

"It's old, after all," Nonoko whispered back, peeking out from behind a crate.

No one talked anymore, using hand motions as they got closer to the meeting place. They saw a man, directing others in the warehouse who were moving things back and force.

Mikan looked at the rest of her members, and they nodded their heads. She let out a squeaking noise that sounded very accurately like a mouse. The man did not make any indication that he had heard, but he gave the clipboard he was holding to someone else and picked up to crates, walking nearer to where Mikan was. They had chosen a safe distance away from where everyone else was, and the man put down the crates a few inches from where they were hiding. He tapped the big crate twice, and left.

Mikan lightly tiptoed forward, opening the big crate to reveal a smaller crate, much more convenient for carrying. She took it, closed the crate back up, and motioned to her members. They gathered around her and teleported back to the academy. It was simply too much trouble to try and escape normally. It was an easy mission, but they still had to avoid any chance of being seen.

They landed outside the school, where they had met. Persona was waiting for them, hand out expectantly. Mikan placed the box in his hand, and received a dark smile in return. He left without a word.

"What a creep," Matsuri 'hmphed', crossing her arms.

The brunette laughed. "He's always like that."

"You said that about the Hyuuga kid, too. You're getting comfortable here, aren't you?"

Mikan shrugged. "I like my freedom. But being here isn't bad."

Matsuri's golden eyes narrowed slightly. "…You like being trapped in this place?"

The nullifier raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised at the sudden change of tone. "…It's a home to come back to, Matsuri. You know that I don't have a house anymore."

"Hmmmm~" the blue-haired girl looked at the building, tall, proud, beautiful. Strong. "I never went here, so I don't know. I struggled with my Alice, I always had my freedom. Maybe I should've gone here."

"Well…" Anna began, "After we thought you died…we didn't know what else to do. I mean, we wandered around for a while until Mikan took up the position as leader…but in the end we decided that the Academy was probably best for training. Mi-chan transferred a bit late though."

Matsuri smiled. "I'd be interested in the festivals that this place holds," she said cheerfully, tapping her hand on the brick walls of the school.

Misaki laughed. "Your name is Matsuri, afterall. They do hold some pretty good ones."

"Cool! I think I'll hang around some, kill some time then. I haven't had any fun since trying to run for my life."

"Yay!" Mikan sang, hugging her ex-leader. "This will be fun. Just like old times!"

Even Hotaru gave a small smile, all the over members offering hugs as well. But it was the inventor that was still holding suspicion at the blue-haired girl's tone of voice. _'You like being trapped in this place?' _

It was true that some of the students hated this place. Outsiders regarded the Academy as some sacred prison; you went in and never came out. Parents who loved their children cried.

But surely Matsuri would've understood just from the facial expressions that they liked this place. She knew their pasts; she knew that none of them had homes or loving parents to return to. So this school, this closely knit community, was their home now.

And she regarded it as being trapped, as people who hated the school, or outsiders, would have regarded it.

Hotaru wasn't sure she liked that. Well, she _didn't_ like the way Matsuri had said it, she hadn't even apologized. But this was their beloved Matsuri who had trained them, who had treated them like family. Of course it was Mikan that SAGA was the most close to, but Matsuri was like the godmother. The guardian.

She played a part with Mikan as a savior in deciding to take them in, even though she had originally kicked Mikan out. But she brought Mikan back in and they were all a happy family. And when they separated from the bigger group and became their own gang, they were only themselves.

Matsuri probably didn't mean anything by it, she _was_ an outsider afterall. She'd never been here, so naturally she would see it differently.

So they could trust her. They knew her well. How could they _not_ trust her?

…Right?


End file.
